June 13, 2004

By: Warren Nielsen
Website: http://www.1st-in-cell-phones.com

Mobile phones can be utilized in critical areas such as healthcare

More than 20% of any population in the developed world suffers from a chronic disease such as diabetes, high blood pressure or asthma. Best results in the treatment of these patients are achieved when the patients actively participate in their own treatment.

The best healthcare applications can be used independent of place and time. The infrastructure required by the applications should be quick and easy for patients or health care providers to use. Wireless, mobile phone applications fulfil these requirements.

Medixine’s new Mobile Disease Management product combines mobile phone applications, their distribution to users and wider functionalities used via traditional Internet terminals into a unique system. To patients, the system offers an easy to use mobile phone program for logging in and sending measurement values and receiving feed back.

To health care professionals Medixine offers a mobile phone application, where patients’ measurement values can be controlled anywhere, anytime.

The solution is built using Java-technologies and it works in most currently sold mobile phones. The new product expands the scope Medixine’s previously launched Internet application for safe communication between patients and health care professionals.

Medixine’s managing director, doctor Tapio Jokinen says: When developing input features for blood glucose values our aim was to beat our biggest competitor: the paper journal. Here I think that we have succeeded very well.

Furthermore, a mobile phone is usually always with the patient whereas the paper journal is not.

Once measurement values have been entered in an electronic form, our customers can use all the advanced features of our eCare system. For instance, if a measured value exceeds a patient specific threshold value, a message is returned to the patient’s phone.

A care taker gets an e-mail or a text message he internet or a WAP phone.

We have used Medixine Disease Management software in our eCare pilots on the home monitoring of anticoagulant patients. Measurement values and feedback from care takers have been exchanged using the system. Our experiences of the software have been good. We have the possibility to use the mobile extensions from the beginning of 2004., says Raija Välimäki from Espoo City Healthcare.

Medixine Oy is a member of Forum Nokia, Nokia’s global developer community. According to Nokia’s vision, mobile phones with various type of new services will increasingly be part of people’s everyday life.

The Mobile Disease Management application developed by Medixine is an excellent example of how mobile phones can be utilized in critical areas such as healthcare, says Lee Epting, Vice President, Nokia Mobile Software.

True mobility means that people can move around, live their lives, finding the services they need anywhere they go. This is particularly important in healthcare where new mobile services can improve people's quality of life enormously.

Medixine's mobile disease management solutions are good examples of services we are going to see more and more in the near future, and which will eventually change the way we live, feeling safe and secure wherever we may be. This is of great importance to HP, too, says Tommi Hietavuo, HP Mobile E-Services Bazaar.

Author Notes:

Warren Nielsen contributes and publishes news editorial to http://www.1st-in-cell-phones.com.  A source for info and tips for the cellular phone industry featuring articles, comparisons and reviews of cellular phones and service plans.