Medical School to use mobile tech to reach underserved communities

With the help of a $100,000 grant from the Verizon Foundation, Temple's School of Medicine is using the modern-day equivalent of the town crier — text messaging via cell phone — to push cardiovascular health information out to neighboring communities. "You can tell someone that their blood pressure needs to be 120 over 80, or that they should go out for a walk to get exercise, but it's not enough," said William Santamore, director of telemedicine research. "We need to provide actionable information, which is why we are working with trusted community leaders to learn the best ways to do that."

Mobile Health Watch, Government Health IT | June 29-30, 2011