My curiosity about SMS messaging and its application in delivering healthcare services has grown. Using SMS messaging services to reach patients at the point of need fuels my passion to reduce health disparities in under-served populations. Learning about Dr. Kahn’s research study at SFGH’s Ward 86 validates that mHealth has a domestic application. Our meeting brought up more questions after my last posting. One in person meeting shed an incredible amount of light on how patients can access their personal health information. New ideas are forming in my head about how to re-purpose health information for patient care. Now that I am gaining a better understanding of eHealth and its application in mHealth. It actually got me thinking about the broader application of mHealth to promote population health for all. I am interested in developing a broader discussion on how mHealth applies to additional populations and their support team.
How about offering SMS messaging services to all patients regardless of socioeconomic status? Our conversation got me thinking about my own health. What about messaging caregivers? I’ll use my self as an example.
I am a healthy woman so far free from any serious or chronic health conditions. I more or less visit my physician on an annual basis for routine check ups. Routine lab work is done at these appointments. I usually receive the results in the mail 7-10 days after my appointment. They have always come back normal. Since my exams have been healthy and routine, I don’t pay much attention to the lab results. As a matter fact, I throw them out. It’s normal. Why bother to keep a document that’s been archived at my physicians’ office. I’d imagine that’s part of my permanent file. However, I don’t know if that’s true or not. The doctor signs off on the results. I know that’s a fact. I’m sure a copy goes into my file.
When I return for my annual check up we go through the routine questions. No change is my answer to 99% of their questions. We repeat the exam and I head to the lab for my tests. I have no recollection of my lab results from the previous year. I simply haven’t paid attention. After speaking to Dr. Kahn, I want access to that data. I go to the doctor for my personal health. I should know my lab results. Better yet I should be able to retrieve my results from the previous year, so that I can monitor any changes that come back. I’d even be interested in knowing if my blood pressure was different from the previous year’s exam. Simple data points I can query to manage my health from a personal health record would be incredibly powerful. I want to empower myself to understand how to formulate better questions when I see my physician.
Dr. Kahn’s research got me thinking about how patients, caregivers, and other supporters can aid in following care instructions after routine check ups or hospitalization. I tweaked my research question to help me find new data in the literature on my problem.
I am studying SMS messaging services to learn more about the efficacy of chronic disease management in HIV/AIDS impacted women and youth, so that my readers can better understand how using technology can promote population health.
I am thinking about the following questions as I seek more data for my project:
What are the limitations of SMS messaging services?
How scalable are these programs?
Does it require a universal electronic health record?
How can we make EHR interoperable?
How can we query the database to retrieve universal health records?
How do you authenticate users to access their health records via SMS text messaging?
What post operative instructions can be delivered via SMS messaging?
What about caregivers? Can we text them patient care instructions?
How many messages do we send?
At what interval and for how long?
Who develops the messages?
What role do librarians play in SMS messaging services? How can librarians influence stakeholders to develop these programs? Are librarians looked to as thought leaders in developing these tools for healthcare services? Do researchers, healthcare providers, and community based organizations looking to the library as the resources to promote these services?
I seek to demonstrate how effective mHealth tools can be for all. One last question. Where does mHealth fit into the policy landscape?
Tammy A. Magid 