Using Existing Mobile Technology to Monitor Disease Activity: An Example in Childhood Nephrotic Syndrome

摘要

Mi cents representing a range of socioeconomic backgrounds now own or have access to cell phones or smartphones. ’* Mobile devices are no longer limited to simply making voice calls and have been integrated into nearly all aspects of our daily lives (e-g., work, education, shop- ping, entertainment). Given the success in using mobile technology to revolutionize the delivery of ser- vices in other domains, mobile health (mHealth), defined as the use of mo- bile devices to support medical and public health practice,’ is a natural next step. mHealth has the potential to transform how we provide patient health care services and improve patient outcomes on a large scale by reducing barriers to accessing care and delivering interventions to nearly anyone with a mobile phone. However, the most efficacious and practical means for using mobile technology to improve patient health often seems elusive.