Telemedicine from Garmin and the Mayo Clinic

Garmin subsidiary Digital Cyclone has partnered with the famed Mayo Clinic to launch a promising new telemedicine venture, offering medical advice by cell phone.

According to a Mayo press release:

Using Mayo Clinic InTouch, wireless phone subscribers have a rich health resource directly on their phone. A few keystrokes give consumers immediate access to:

- Step-by-step first aid tips

- A Symptom Checker that provides self-care guidelines or advises emergency care for more than 45 common symptoms in adults and children

- More than 100 short health news videos

- Timely health alerts and drug watches.

In addition, subscribers may enter their city or ZIP code to search for nearby emergency and urgent care facilities from a list of over 3,800 accredited providers. If the cell phone has global positioning system (GPS) capability, it automatically finds nearby accredited facilities without typing the city or ZIP code. The care center's information is displayed in list format and shows the facility's name, address and estimated distance.

The new service will cost subscribers $2.99 per month, which will be incorporated in their phone bills.

Digital Cyclone is best-know for the provision of specialised weather forecasts to wireless phones, for such applications as fishing and aviation. Garmin acquired Digital Cyclone in January this year.

March 1st, 2007