Researchers to study mobile phone technology for diabetes patients

Your patients who have diabetes ultimately may benefit from research to be undertaken at five U.S. institutions as they share $1.3 million in grants as part of the McKesson Foundation’s Mobilizing for Health initiative. The investigators will study ways in which the use of mobile phone technology can improve diabetes care and management in underserved populations.

The studies will examine a range of mobile-health technology options, from sending simple SMS text messages to patients to remind them to take their medications to a comprehensive mobile phone-based software program that is integrated with patients’ electronic health records. Each study will be completed within a year, several will test bilingual (Spanish and English) messaging strategies, and all are designed around patient populations served by community health clinics.

“These studies are part of an ongoing foundation effort to tie innovative technologies to low-cost, scalable health solutions . . . to better help patients manage their chronic conditions,” says Carrie Varoquiers, president of the McKesson Foundation.

The grants, of up to $250,000 each, will go to researchers at George Washington University, the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Nova Southeastern University, the Public Health Institute, and the University of Southern California.