Microsoft Corp. unveiled today the Physician Digital Dashboard at the 2001 Conference and Exhibition of the Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society (HIMSS 2001), held Feb. 4-8 in New Orleans. Microsoft and its industry partners have taken the technology of a digital dashboard, which synchronizes information and displays it in one visible, easy-to-read place, and developed it specifically for physicians. Used in a clinic setting, for example, the Physician Digital Dashboard allows doctors, nurses and clinicians to access consolidated personal, team, hospital, patient and external information and enables single-click access to analytical and collaborative tools. "Managed care has imposed additional requirements for doctors on top of their primary job of caring for patients. They have to fill out so much paperwork, file claims and perform many other administrative tasks," said Davide Vigano, director of public sector and healthcare for Microsoft. "Doctors care about their patients' health, but they only have a few moments to focus on giving care. The Physician Digital Dashboard addresses that by giving the doctor a consolidated view and eliminating the need to track down information or switch applications. On the Physician Digital Dashboard, it's all there."