treating patients based on data sent remotely, only for face-to-face care. Some patient advocates also worry that electronically conveyed data might be substituted for direct medical care, which the organizers of the pilot projects say is not the goal. Instead, they say, the devices will allow doctors to accumulate data on a patient over time; this information can then be used in a face-to-face visit with the patient. This approach allows the doctor to “spend more time with patients so they are able to plumb the depth of the patient’s problem,” Russell said. And if the digitally sent data show that something may be going wrong, medical professionals can step in immediately rather than wait for the patient’s next routine appointment. “We set up thresholds, and anything above or below that, then the doctors get notified,” explained Kelley Gurley, project manager for the Erickson study. “If the blood sugar is low, the patient would receive a call [from the clinic] that says, ‘Please call
