Early Study Results Show Promise for Field of Mobile Health Care

Pictures taken with cell phones and other mobile devices by patients can help doctors diagnose wounds without seeing the patients in person, according to early findings of a six-month study on “mobile health” technology, the Washington Post reports.

Mobile health — known as mHealth — is an emerging telemedicine field that includes all aspects of care that can be facilitated through a mobile device or cell phone.

Study Details

For the study, Neal Sikka — an emergency department physician at George Washington University Hospital — and colleagues recruit patients who arrive at the hospital with:

• Cuts;
• Skin infections;
• Rashes; and
• Other flesh wounds.

The patients document their injuries with camera phones and send pictures through a secure e-mail account to a physician. Physicians then see the patient in person to confirm the diagnosis.

Sikka said that 90% of the diagnoses so far have been accurate.

The study will continue through October.

Evaluations

After their consultation, patients are asked to complete a questionnaire about their perceptions of mHealth.

According to Sikka, few patients are concerned about security or privacy, and many believe the technology could:

• Save time;
• Reduce costs; and
• Improve patient-doctor communication.

Sikka added that mHealth could benefit patients who live in rural areas and those who do not want to spend time or money waiting for diagnosis of a superficial injury.

However, David Armstrong — professor of surgery and director of the Southern Arizona Limb Salvage Alliance at the University of Arizona College of Medicine — said some physicians who are not as familiar with mHealth technology could have concerns regarding:

• Accuracy of diagnosis;
• Legal issues;
• Privacy;
• Reimbursement; and
• Workload (Tamura, Washington Post, 8/31).

Using Cell Phones To Assess Vision

In related news, researchers with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology Media Lab are developing a vision test called the Near-Eye Tool for Refractive Assessment, the Boston Globe reports.

The test allows users to look through an eyepiece on a cell phone at a red and a green line. The user then presses buttons on the cell phone to make the lines overlap. The program interprets the user’s prescription.

The research team believes the cell phone technology eventually could be used in developing nations where access to vision care is scarce.

The New England College of Optometry will test the program this fall (Cooney, Boston Globe, 8/30).

Source: iHealthBeat