Press
The Feasibility of Home or Patient Self-Testing
North Carolina Medical Journal, March/April Issue
Thomas Wall
The emergence of technology for data signal transmission to and from cellular telephones has opened up an entirely new dimension of communicating basic clinical information to and from a central site. Now it is possible, with the development of home medical devices recording biomedical indicators, to digitally transmit this information using Bluetooth(r) communications protocol to a cellular telephone and then to a file server. The file server can then interpret this information, comparing it to other measures taken over time, and send encouraging or instructional messages back to the patient to motivate positive health actions related to the chronic health condition. Simultaneously, a summary of this same information can be sent to the physician or other health care professional involved in the care of the patient. All of the data are accessible through a secure internet portal to the health care professional and the patient. These measurements can be taken, transmitted, interpreted, and commented upon within a few seconds, thus making it possible for both patient and health care provider to communicate about the ongoing management of one's chronic condition in near real-time.
