title: Use of patients' mobile phones to store and share personal health information: results of a questionnaire survey.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To explore the opinions of outpatients concerning a new communication method: the self-management of assessed personal problems in health information records (SAPPHIRE) using patients' mobile phones to store and share medical content (medical SAPPHIRE, or m-SAPPHIRE).
  
  
  METHODS
  A cross-sectional questionnaire survey. Patients Outpatients who visited us from March 1 to May 30, 2012, were asked to complete a questionnaire survey regarding SAPPHIRE and m-SAPPHIRE. The m-SAPPHIRE data consisted of a problem list, height, weight, waist size and active medication list. Ten questions were asked regarding the usefulness of m-SAPPHIRE, the sharing of m-SAPPHIRE and the use of mobile phones to store m-SAPPHIRE data.
  
  
  RESULTS
  One hundred and ninety-three patients (male/female, 79/114; mean age, 57±21 years) were registered: 95.9% answered that m-SAPPHIRE would be useful, 98% agreed to manage their personal health records by themselves, and 95.8%, 93.8%, and 92.8% of the patients responded that they would allow m-SAPPHIRE information to be shared with family members, medical workers, and health care providers, respectively. Of the patients, 75.1% responded that they owned a mobile phone, and 43.5% answered that they could enter m-SAPPHIRE information into a mobile phone by themselves, while 27.5% responded that they could do so with someone's help.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Patients believe that m-SAPPHIRE would be useful for retrieving their health records during emergency situations or for sharing with family members and medical and health care providers. SAPPHIRE using mobile phones could be an inexpensive and legal method for sharing medical data.
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology, National Hospital Organization Kumamoto Medical Center, Japan. stawara@kumamoto2.hosp.go.jp
authors.forename: Satoru
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Tawara
authors.forename: Yasuhiro
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Yonemochi
authors.forename: Takayuki
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Kosaka
authors.forename: Yanosuke
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Kouzaki
authors.forename: Tomohiro
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Takita
authors.forename: Toshihisa
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Tsuruta
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D040421:Cell Phone / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D003299:Cooperative Behavior; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D055991:Health Records, Personal; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011446:Prospective Studies; D012648:Self Care; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D055815:Young Adult