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A new center that aims to develop technologies that will help to improve the access and cost of healthcare delivery is being launched by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.MIT announced the creation of the Medical Electronic Device Realization Center (MEDRC), in collaboration with Analog Devices, Inc. (ADI) and GE Global Research.The new center will aim to create revolutionary improvements in multiple areas of the medical industry, including electronic devices, diagnostics and treatments, and technologies to enable information-driven health-care systems.

Using social media as a physician isn't about filling your office with new patients, as one expert will tell you, but is more about the "moral obligation" that physicians have to provide their patients with accurate health information. Healthcare IT News interviewed Howard J. Luks, MD, a board-certified orthopedic surgeon and an associate professor of Orthopedic Surgery at New York Medical College, about how he incorporates social media into his practice.

As it seeks to help members who have been diagnosed with diabetes better control their condition and avoid complications, Aetna has launched a program through which members will receive educational text messages, reminding them about screenings and tests, and offering tips on healthy eating and exercising."Managing a chronic condition like diabetes has to fit in and keep pace with today's increasingly busy lifestyles," said Kyra Bobinet, MD, medical director of health and wellness innovation for Aetna.

A study by the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA) finds that wireless networks, tablet computers and portable phone handsets improve clinical collaboration and patient care.

While it is "critical that doctors, who have the best healthcare information to share, be part of the online healthcare conversation," says social media advisor Glen Gilmore, "there are definite precautions that should be taken to lessen the risk of social media missteps."