There are 4 projects of this team. The first is the computer telephone service linking cocaine addicted women to their physicians. The second is an outreach program to new mothers to encourage immunization, the third is primary care screening in Cleveland of alcoholics, and finally the project to link the use of phone service with care providers. The projects are working with 5,000 patients from 15 providers in the Cleveland area. Ford is moving from a stand alone concept to an integrated concept, meaning that if we build a system inside the provider location, it will reach even more, and you have a greater chance of healing people.
Location is very important.
It is important to go where the health communication technologies fit the health care provided, especially in formal service. Go to a place where the patient has the most access and is most likely to have contact with a physician. It is important to encourage the patient to make the call to the information service when the patient makes the first contact with provider. If a person who has an appointment then makes a telecommunication call, makes the patient more likely to show up again in the doctor's office for a follow-up visit. If the patient has access to a phone library service, the information received will clarify the patient's condition.