Alerts for remote health monitoring using online social media platforms

Alerts are an essential part of future remote health monitoring. We assess the feasibility of leveraging online social media for such capability to enable the delivery of healthcare outside clinical sites. We have implemented medical alerts triggered by bio-data and notifications of management-related actions in relation to the operation of an example heart-monitoring application. We have examined the suitability of online social media platforms using Facebook. A Facebook application was developed to deliver configurable alerts to four different actor viewpoints in a carer network; the patient; the doctor in charge; the professional carer; and a family member of the patient. The suitability of the application was analysed as well as an initial examination of the reliability of alert delivery. We conclude that online social media platforms could offer suitable platforms for alerts in remote health monitoring.