Hmm, you do look ill. I prescribe a good dose of mobile data

Adopting "mobile health" - the use of mobile technology as an interface between health providers and patients - could apparently save the EU €100bn by 2017, and make us €93bn too, if only governments would get out of the way and let it happen. That's according to beancounters PwC who were hired by mobile industry body GSMA to …

[I like noodles]

Here's where a good dose of mobile data is excellent for the ill:

Within the last month I spent a week in a hospital bed.

My 3 "all-you-can-eat" data plan enabled me to watch TVCatchup on my phone all week, thereby meaning I could watch whatever channel I wanted, get it in decent resolution, and saved me forking out £15 quid of the "pocket money" my other half gave me on the tv and phone system above the bed.

It also meant I could use my own headphones rather than those provided that may well have previously sat over numerous pairs of seriously-ill and possibly contagious ears, so it was good for my health as well as my pocket.

[Anonymous Coward]

Re: Here's where a good dose of mobile data is excellent for the ill:

"It also meant I could use my own headphones rather than those provided that may well have previously sat over numerous pairs of seriously-ill and possibly contagious ears, so it was good for my health as well as my pocket."

Paranoid!

Of course the hospital never even considered this!

[Anonymous Coward]

Stop wasting public funds!

"well-intentioned charities rocking up with a case of iPhones"

Not that well intentioned asking for one of the most expensive handsets! I'd be more inclined to back up their case had it been made on more realistic terms, ie. a cost effective platform.

I see this complete waste of public money every day. iPhone offer NOTHING which can not be achieved using a more cost effective solution.

The total waste of public money on Apple products is a shocking state of affairs. Not taht anything is done about it. It's always those who shout the loudest, stamp their feet and kick up a fuss who waste the most.

Asking for iPhone says to me you have not looked in detail at the best solutions, so what else have you missed? I said earlier, iPhone offers NOTHING which can be achieved on a cost effective platform.

[Anonymous Coward]

Perhaps slightly off topic

but nonetheless IT related, at a recent visit to my GP (in Australia) he mentioned that the Government is now forcing GPs to forward patient data to the new personally controlled electronic health (eHealth) record (PCEHR) system, which was originally touted as an opt-in system. The chilling part is that they refuse to guarantee security of patient records, and anomalies in patient data have already been observed.

[Vimes]

A little education in technology would certainly not do the NHS any harm IMO - especially when I've heard of cases of GPs asking why they shouldn't be using Google Docs to store sensitive patient information.

And as for contacting patients they manage to get this wrong too. On one occasion I kept on being called by an automated system to remind me of an upcoming appointment. It kept on asking for personal details before giving me the details of the appointment. I refused to give these details out, and since it was just a machine on the other end I just hung up. This was repeated several times within the same evening until eventually it stopped. I tried using the phone the following evening and it was still talking away going round and round the same loop.

When it comes to telecommunications I wonder how much money they could save if they just paid attention to their bills and perhaps ask themselves why some calls last longer than 24 hours?

[Anonymous Coward]

"On one occasion I kept on being called by an automated system to remind me of an upcoming appointment. It kept on asking for personal details before giving me the details of the appointment. I refused to give these details out, and since it was just a machine on the other end I just hung up. This was repeated several times within the same evening until eventually it stopped. I tried using the phone the following evening and it was still talking away going round and round the same loop."

What would you prefer, the system asking for you to confirm some details to verify it is indeed in contact with the intended recipient, or just call your number and confirm to whoever picks up your appointment at the clap clinic? Use your head.

[VinceH]

Optional

"What would you prefer, the system asking for you to confirm some details to verify it is indeed in contact with the intended recipient, or just call your number and confirm to whoever picks up your appointment at the clap clinic? Use your head."

I think you are missing the point slightly - Vimes' objection clearly wasn't the security details that were being asked for, it was the fact that it was the wrong number being called to start with, coupled with the fact that it remained on the line for an entire day.

Someone should be noticing such long calls: they are a clear waste of money, but more to the point they indicate, quite strongly, a problem that should be addressed.