A few years ago, iQ developed a prototype called iQ.2Do. The idea was based on a simple premise: We rarely live up to the promises we make in the doctors office.
Our industry calls that an adherence issue – in fact, some call it the biggest health care crisis of our time. Roughly half of us discontinue therapy within the first six months – that’s true even for life-changing drugs.
The thing is, in real life, it’s not always an intentional decision to quit. It can be as simple as forgetting to get that next refill.
So we asked: What if you could be reminded to refill when it was actually convenient? We’d use geolocation and pharmacy records to deliver a reminder message when it was most relevant – that is when you’re out and about, near the pharmacy, and in need of a refill. You can check out a video overview of the idea here.
AT&T’s Donde could make just that kind of location-relevant support both easy and personal. Donde was created in AT&T’s labs out of a desire to find a better value between the connection of messages and location. Researchers realized a note with location association would mean users could get the message just when they needed it — which is often at a particular location or point in time. This way messages don’t get buried in an inbox.
Think of the possibilities in real life - what if you received your spouse’s message to pick up a gallon of milk when you pulled up to the grocery store? Chances are you would remember to buy the requested gallon of milk better than if you had received the message earlier that day.
And in health care – what if you received a message from your nurse practitioner to refill a prescription and pick up the ingredients to a healthy recipe right as you pulled into a similar grocery story? What about a supportive message from your doctor right before you start physical therapy? Or even a planned moment of intervention when you drive up to that McDonald’s drive thru?
Donde is coming to a consumer market trial soon. Its initial functionality will let users compose a message, associate a location, whether current or searchable, and then send the message for delivery at the time the recipient reaches a particular geographic location. Hear more from the innovator, Gerald Karam.
AT&T (or Gerald) – if you’re reading, we’ve got 10 BETA testers right here ready to sign up. Love this idea!
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