Fewer doctor trips

Imagine your cell phone ringing, and when you answer, it is not your spouse, the boss or a friend. It is an automated message from the office of your primary care physician reminding you to take antibiotic dose number three for that sinus infection you've been battling.

While large health groups teams are moving quickly on the journey to put their medical records on computer systems, others teams - often within the same organizations - are working just as hard on developing alternative technological avenues to improving health care and lowering costs.

Oakland-based Kaiser Permanente is engaged in developing cell phone applications to remind patients when it's time to take a medication, test blood/sugar levels or start to fast for the next day's blood work.

"The focus would be nonroutine things," said Dr. John Mattison, chief medical information officer for Kaiser Permanente's Southern California region.

Once people get established taking maintenance medications, like those frequently prescribed for high blood pressure and high cholesterol, the reminders would no longer be necessary, he said.