SMS & your health

Doctors can cut down time people spend in hospital by sending them messages to check conditions.

Doctors can cut down the time people spend in hospital by sending them text messages at home to check on their recovery.

According to The Sun, doctors in a pilot scheme sent ten questions to cancer patients on their mobile phones.

The queries on pain levels and weight loss were designed to detect any changes in health.

The patients then messaged back their answers, which were sent to a special web site.

A flashing light appeared next to a patient's name if their symptoms seemed serious and doctors who monitored the web site then arranged suitable treatments for them.

Some of the doctors, who tested the unique scheme in Milan, reported that it worked particularly well with younger people and saved unnecessary hassle of patients as well as hospital staff.

However, the text system did not hit off well with elderly patients who are not very mobile friendly.

"Mobile phones and the Internet provide important new methods of communication between doctors and patients," the report quoted the researchers as saying.