Turning Mobile Phones into a First Aid Kit

The Mayo Clinic InTouch wireless health program will be available in February on Alltel Wireless, Sprint, and other major carriers' wireless phones.

"Mayo Clinic's mission has three elements: quality patient care, research to help cure diseases and education," says Roger Harms, M.D., a Mayo Clinic obstetrician/gynecologist and the medical editor-in-chief for MayoClinic.com. "Our education function is not limited to training the next generation of physicians and other medical providers, though. We also see providing health information to consumers as essential. Through this new project we're able to make it available to them wherever they are."

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 the nearest accredited facility 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.

"When you're away from home and need medical attention, having a list of accredited nearby emergency rooms and urgent care facilities will help in those not-quite-911 situations," said Burfeind. "The Emergency Room Finder even lets you call the hospital with a single keystroke."

Content for the Mayo Clinic InTouch program primarily comes from MayoClinic.com and Mayo Clinic's Medical Edge syndicated news products. Customers can subscribe to the Mayo Clinic InTouch program for $2.99 per month. A list of wireless carriers and phones supported is available at www.digitalcyclone.com/mayo.

The relationship between Garmin's Digital Cyclone, producers of the world's first real-time mobile wireless weather information, and Mayo Clinic is based on a shared commitment to providing critical information for preventive health and safety measures.

Founded in 1998, Digital Cyclone is an innovator of wireless applications for mobile devices. Products include My-Cast® for consumer, Pilot My-CastTM for aviation, and ESPN Fishin' Forecast for anglers and outdoor enthusiasts. In January 2007, Digital Cyclone was acquired by Garmin Ltd.

Mayo Clinic is the first and largest integrated, not-for-profit group medical practice in the world. Doctors from every medical specialty work together to care for patients, joined by common systems and a philosophy of "the needs of the patient come first." More than 2,500 physicians and scientists and 42,000 allied health staff work at Mayo Clinic, which has sites in Rochester, Minn., Jacksonville, Fla., and Scottsdale/Phoenix, Ariz. Collectively, the three locations treat more than half a million people each year.

Mayo Clinic provides health and medical information to the general public through its Medical Edge syndicated news offerings for television, radio and newspapers. MayoClinic.com is an award-winning health information site that attracts over seven million visitors per month. Produced by a team of Web professionals and medical experts working side by side, MayoClinic.com gives users access to the experience and knowledge of Mayo Clinic's physicians and scientists. All revenue from content licensing supports medical education and research programs at Mayo Clinic - Garmin.