Bring a New Generation of Touch-based NFC Products and Services to Healthcare

DAYTON, Ohio & LAUSANNE, Switzerland, Standard Register, a recognized leader in managing critical information and communications for healthcare, and Poken, a Swiss-based technology company, announced today they have joined forces to launch a new product and service platform, pokenHEALTH, which Standard Register will exclusively market to healthcare in North America.

"This exclusive relationship brings together Poken's market leadership in real-world, social media with our healthcare expertise to offer clients an unprecedented way to transform events, build stronger connections with their stakeholders and truly differentiate their brand," said Scott Wallace vice president of strategic development for Standard Register Healthcare, a business unit of Standard Register that serves 62 percent of U.S. hospitals.

"Together, we have the opportunity to transform events and help hospitals create connections with people that are fun and memorable," said Stéphane Doutriaux, founder & CEO of Poken. "Our platform caters to these needs, while providing a secure and confidential platform for continued interaction."

pokenHEALTH provides healthcare marketers with a leading-edge suite of interactive, touch-based marketing tools to manage community and professional events. Using Swiss watch-industry microelectronic knowledge, pokenHEALTH runs on a unique, near-field communication (NFC)-enabled ecosystem of Poken devices, smart phone apps and tags that allow meeting participants to interact with each other and the sponsor. Users can collect and share contact information, event materials and other resources. Data is wirelessly and instantly sent from one device to the other based on the proximity of their keychain devices or smart phones.

No Personally Identifiable Information (PII) or Protected Health Information (PHI) is exchanged, only unique metadata identifiers, which are uploaded to the user's secure, private online hub where the user can view the people and information collected throughout the event. The private hub can live on long after the event, allowing the sponsor to nurture connections.

"What makes pokenHEALTH great is not the Poken technology alone, but the user experience. The consumer interface is amazingly intuitive, colorful and engaging – something you rarely see in healthcare today. This marks the first milestone with our friends in Switzerland. Every day, we think of new ways it could be used to transform interactions within healthcare," said Yeva Roberts, emerging technology strategist for Standard Register Healthcare.

"The introduction of this new suite of products and services is a natural extension of our strategy. It has the power to enhance the meeting experience and help our customers elevate their brand and advance their reputation," Wallace added.

pokenHEALTH made its debut last week at the Society of Healthcare Strategy and Marketing Development's (SHSMD) annual conference, Connections 2011, in Phoenix, Arizona. The innovative Poken devices were provided to participants during event registration and showcased in this product video.