BlackBerries may be good for your health
Researchers in the United Kingdom, Canada and Sweden are taking part in a study to ascertain whether the use of BlackBerries to transmit real-time health information can boost the treatment of patients with chronic conditions.
Under the study, 120 patients with chronic conditions are using BlackBerries have a set of questions each day to answer, and the answers are transmitted to a computer tracking system that is monitored by a nurse. If patients report symptom changes, the computer system automatically flags the results and alerts a nurse.
Professor Richard Scott, University of Calgary, who is a founding member of the Canadian Society of Telehealth which is conducting the Canadian part of the study, said the use of cell phones and other wireless devices as a supplement to traditional health care is increasing in Canada, and that one of the biggest challenges in the study is to ensure that seniors and those who are unfamiliar with computers can actually use the BlackBerries.
15.11.2007
