DiabeTEXTs

Hey Brian,

Sorry for the late reply – it seems like I am not receiving notifications to my email when posts are sent to the forum.

Here are my responses, respectively to your questions:

· Yes, I had definitely considered that before, but the problem was no one had a cell phone nearby. This would definitely be the easier alternative, as long as there was an individual to receive and reply. I also like sending a text to myself from the phone so that I have Rebecca’s number for records.

· I definitely see it as a possibility – however, I am sure about the connection between the diabetes worker and the telehealth coordinator at the community level. However, with the new Frontline SMS  that can send automated reminders and mass text messages, it would be easy to set-up a system that could remind and inform telehealth coordinators in Fort Severn, for example, from Balmertown about these sessions. More information regarding the system can be found here: http://meeting.knet.ca/mp19/mod/book/view.php?id=3225

· Rebecca is still in the process of collecting phone numbers. Because I felt that there should be some flexibility in how she utilizes the cell phone, I recommended 2 educational texts a day and that she should text messages informing people of community diabetes events (such as educational diabetes meetings, etc). This is still to be discussed with Rebecca and Moses about the frequency of texts to maximize response from recipients.

I feel that collaboration with the telehealth sessions is an excellent point – however, it will take collaboration with both Sioux Lookout Diabetes as well as KOTM to create a system that works for everyone. I think there’s a lot of potential in Frontline SMS when I work with it, and hopefully that can be a viable solution.

Thanks again for your questions!

M