Development of a Personal Medical Recorder on a Cell Phone

Paper medical records have effectively been used in chronic diseases without information technology. To facilitate self-control in hemodialysis and observe a patient's condition continuously, we developed a mobile phonebased personal medical recorder for patients suffering chronic renal failure. The application is based on Java2 Micro Edition and operates like a scheduler. The application stores laboratory data, such as BP, BUN, creatinine, HbA1c, etc., and other pertinent clinical comments into memory on a cell phone. The application can also customize, add or delete items (laboratory data, medications, questions, etc.). Detailed graphic displays of the data are shown. The data can also be sent to a PC with infrared communications. In a usage trial, patients were favorably receptive about this application and indicated that they wanted to continue using it.