Healthcare professionals have been among the first to put wireless applications to the test: exchanging patient records via wireless networks; responding to patient distressed alerts via a wireless receiver; and reminding patients to take their medication via text-enabled cell phones.

Smartmed.com is offering a program where patients can register via their Web site to receive reminders alerting them to take their medication. To sign-up, the individual must provide a list of personal details from home address to wireless and wired phone numbers to medication and illness details.

The service will send a short text message to the person’s cell phone when it is time to take their medication. Once taken, the person sends a message back to Smartmeds indicating they have taken the prescribed dosage. If a certain period of time passes, and there is no response, the medical authorities could be alerted to send a health care professional to their home.

With so much money being wasted in the healthcare system by people not taking their medication properly, this is a means to address the problem, Don Rosen, chief executive of Smartmeds told CNET.

The service is limited to only cell-phone users with text messaging, based solely on numbers: most people have cell phones rather than PDAs. Mr. Rosen said that the service will eventually be extended to PDAs.

For more information: https://www.smartmedsmobile.com/smartmeds/login.jsp