015《经济学》读译参考之十五：每天一条短信-手机对健康有益？!.docVIP

TEXT 15 A text a day... Mar 24th 2006 From The Economist print edition The medical uses of mobile phones show they can be good for your health WHAT impact can mobile phones have on their users health? Many people (A) the supposed ill effects caused by radiation from handsets and base stations1, despite the lack of credible evidence of any harm. But evidence for the beneficial effects of mobile phones on health is rather more abundant. Indeed, a systematic review (B) by Rifat Atun and his colleagues at Imperial College, London, ★rounds up[1] 150 examples of the use of text-messaging in the delivery of health care. These uses (C) three categories: efficiency gains; public-health gains; and direct benefits to patients by incorporating text-messaging into treatment regimes. The study, funded by Vodafone2, the worlds largest mobile operator, was published this week. 　 （1）Using ★texting[2] to boost efficiency is not rocket science, but big savings can be achieved. Several trials carried out in England have found that the use of text-messaging reminders reduces the number of missed appointments with family doctors by 26-39%, for example, and the number of missed hospital appointments by 33-50%. If such schemes were ★rolled out[3] nationally, this would (D) annual savings of ￡256m-364m. 　 Text messages are also being used to remind patients about blood tests, clinics, scans and dental appointments. Similar schemes in America, Norway and Sweden have had equally satisfying results—though the use of text-message reminders in the Netherlands, where non-attendance rates are low, at 4%, had no effect other than to annoy patients. 　 Text messages can also be a good way to disseminate public-health information, particularly to groups who are hard to reach by other means, such as teenagers, or in developing countries where other means of communication are unavailable. Text messages have been used in India to inform people about the World Heal