ATLANTA – Sprint Nextel CEO Dan Hesse took the stage to deliver the opening keynote address of HIMSS10 on Monday morning. His core message: It is absolutely essential that healthcare providers embrace and make full use of the technological advances of the 21st century - especially wireless communication technology.

And while it was the "unsung heroes" comprising the packed audience who will be key to making that happen, Hesse said his company was happy to help facilitate the change.

In discussing "the evolving role of mobile and handheld applications in healthcare," Hesse joked that one of his acquaintances once said that "when you walk in a hospital, it's like, 'whoa, I'm back in the '70s.'" It was imperative for the healthcare industry, he said, to move "out of the 70s, and into the 21st century and beyond."

And this is the moment to do so, as healthcare faces "a once-in-a-lifetime combination of great challenges and breathtaking possibilities," with technological know-how exploding just as the system is facing "a series of dramatic shifts that demand fundamental change."

Key to the coming transformation, Hesse asserted, would be wireless communication devices. Healthcare telecom spending is expected to increase 44 percent over next three years, from $8.6 billion to $12.4 billion, and wireless applications will represent two thirds of that jump.

Mobile phones, four billion of which are in use worldwide - more than TVs, PCs and cars combined - are the most rapidly adopted technology in history, Hesse noted. It's up to the healthcare industry to follow that lead, adopting smart phones and their ilk as central part of their care delivery model.

Sprint, he said, is helping to power that transformation. Specifically, he cited novel and valuable smart phone contributions in four areas: chronic diseases, pandemics, heart attacks, and remote monitoring for caregivers.

The real shift, said Hesse, will come thanks to 4G wireless technology, which, above and beyond offering "blazing speeds," will offer increased data security to protect patient privacy and will "make it easier for healthcare providers to expand their reach to advanced wireless devices beyond just phones," enabling real-time virtual collaboration, large high-res imaging, and live broadcasting of surgeries.

Wireless technology can be implemented across the entire care continuum, Hesse said. "We want to partner with you in this very important work."