Towards the Future

Heading towards the future

The current design for DiabeTEXTs is to utilize a Nokia 5310 phone and the Nokia PC Suite interface in order to send and collect SMS texts. Although the interface on the Nokia PC Suite is a simple one, the question persists: is there an interface that can do more, such as store patient records, and send out questionnaires via SMS texting? Is there an interface that could work with almost any phone? What can we envision for the future of mobile health care in Northern Ontario?

Frontline SMS

FrontlineSMS is award-winning free, open source software that turns a laptop and a mobile phone into a central communications hub. Once installed, the program enables users to send and receive text messages with groups of people through mobile phones. What you communicate is up to you, making FrontlineSMS useful in many different ways.

· It does not require an Internet connection.

· Attach a phone and SIM card, and pay your local operator per SMS as usual.

· It stores all phone numbers and records all incoming and outgoing messages.

· All data lives on your computer, not on servers controlled by someone else.

· You can send messages to individuals or large groups, and reply individually – useful for fieldwork or during surveys.

· It is easy to install and requires little or no training to use.

· Developers can freely take the source code and add their own features.

· It can be used anywhere in the world simply by switching the SIM card.

To learn more go to: http://www.frontlinesms.com/

*Note*: I have tested Frontline SMS with the Nokia 5310 XpressMusic, and it does NOT work. The compatibility list of which phones work and which don’t can be found here: http://www.frontlinesms.com/resources/requirements/ According to the developers, it is actually preferable to use a GSM modem for the software.

Frontline SMS MEDIC

We’re focusing on local ownership and appropriate technology.

In the developing world, lack of infrastructure prevents health workers from delivering efficient healthcare to rural areas. As health workers travel from clinics to reach isolated patients, they are often as disconnected from central clinics as the patients they are trying to serve. The mission of FrontlineSMS:Medic is to advance healthcare networks in under served communities using innovative, appropriate mobile technologies. The centerpiece of our system is FrontlineSMS, a free, open-source software platform that enables large-scale, two-way text messaging using only a laptop, a GSM modem, and inexpensive cell phones. We are also extending the FrontlineSMS platform to enable better patient management, electronic medical records via the cell phone, cheap mobile diagnostics, and mapping of health services.

To learn more: http://medic.frontlinesms.com/

*NOTE*: Frontline SMS MEDIC is a plugin for Frontline SMS. You will need to have a working phone or GSM modem to utilize this plugin, just like for Frontline SMS.

Open MRS

OpenMRS is a software platform and a reference application which enables design of a customized medical records system with no programming knowledge (although medical and systems analysis knowledge is required). It is a common platform upon which medical informatics efforts in developing countries can be built. The system is based on a conceptual database structure which is not dependent on the actual types of medical information required to be collected or on particular data collection forms and so can be customized for different uses.

OpenMRS is based on the principle that information should be stored in a way which makes it easy to summarize and analyze, i.e., minimal use of free text and maximum use of coded information. At its core is a concept dictionary which stores all diagnosis, tests, procedures, drugs and other general questions and potential answers. OpenMRS is a client-server application, which means it is designed to work in an environment where many client computers access the same information on a server.

Please visit their site at: http://openmrs.org/about/

DMTS Text Messaging to Landline

Don’t have a mobile phone? Text messages can now be sent to home phones, according to Dryden Mobility.

Features:

• Messages will be converted to voice and delivered to any landline phone in Canada or the US.
• Simply type the landline number in the “TO” field instead of the mobile number
• The landline person can respond back to you using their own voice
• You will receive a status text message back letting you know if the message was delivered to a live person or voicemail system
• To hear the reply message from the landline person just press the send button on your phone while reviewing the reply text message.

To learn more, go to: http://www.dmts.biz/?p=3880