Staying Connected in a Mobile Healthcare System: Experiences from the MediNet Project

A mobile healthcare system consists of a number of components networked together including patients and their healthcare providers. It is important in this type of system for the patient to remain connected at all times even if one of the communication components fails. This paper discusses the design of the MediNet system and shows how it seamlessly handles connectivity issues between patients and their mobile phones, between the healthcare meters and mobile phones, and between mobile phones and web server components. The overall goal behind our design strategies is to continue providing a high level of service to the patient in the face of communication problems leading to improved acceptability and trust of the system by patients