ABSTRACT

Interactive voice response, or IVR, is the technology allowing patients to receive information and communicate with others asynchronously using their mobile or landline telephone. Using IVR, patients interact with a structured series of recorded message components and respond to queries using their touch-tone keypad or voice recognition technology. On the basis of their responses, patients receive recorded messages tailored to their individual needs (see chapter 8 of this volume). Others involved in patients’ care can receive updates based on the IVR assessment reports, along with structured feedback about what clinicians and informal caregivers can do to improve disease management and outcomes. Those updates can be delivered via IVR, structured emails, faxes, pagers, or Internet summary reports.