A device includes a patient-portable remote monitoring unit to monitor one
or more physiological characteristics of an individual and convey
information characterizing the one or more physiological characteristics
to a remote station. The monitoring unit includes a transmitter system
capable to employ a selected one of three or more different
communications channels to convey the information to the remote station,
and a selection unit to select from among the three or more different
communications channels for conveying the information to the remote
station.