This picture from 3G Doctor is remarkable. It captures the flier of a Merck supported Mexican Medmobile initiative that apparently connects patients with their doctors via SMS (translation available on 3G Doctor Blog)

But don’t expect fliers of this type in American offices anytime soon. Risk of privacy violation and difficulty in documentation stifle this level of doctor-patient connectivity. The very laws created to protect patients may ultimately thwart the timely adoption of new communication channels.

And the slow march towards a single payer system will only make real connectivity a rare bird.

Look to the groundswell in mobile technology and social platforms will force change in our current privacy laws.  Until then look for innovation to come from the second and third world.