Microsoft (finally?) joins Continue Health Alliance: According to a report in the EE Times, the Continua Health Alliance added new design guidelines for home health systems and also added a big name to its growing membership of more than 230 companies: Microsoft. I'm amazed Microsoft is just now joining Continua! I wouldn't rank them 230th on the list of companies interested in connected health interoperability... EE Times

Medical school issues iPhones for online textbooks: According to a report from the BBC, more than 500  fourth and fifth year medical students at the University of Leeds will be issued iPhones to access online text books. Seems medical schools only offer iPhones, iPod touchs or iPads -- rarely otherwise. BBC

Number crunching for aging in place tech: A new study on the cost effectiveness of remote patient monitoring for aging in place found that in one case, "the combined annual cost for technology and staff support at the home was $11,100, compared to $82,125 for nursing home care – a savings of $71,025. The annual cost of the technology alone was $1,500." Technology company behind the study was Healthsense. Read more about the white paper, penned by Aging In Place Technology Watch analyst Laurie Orlov here: Release

SMS diabetes management: KeyVive, which aims to use social media and self-management tools to help individuals with chronic illnesses, has released a "HIPAA-compliant mHealth technology for people not only affected by diabetes, but also with other diseases." The application is SMS (text message) based. Release

Native Americans and medical professionals who serve them receive free satellite phones: American billionaire Phil Falcone is donating "very expensive satellite phones and service to Indian reservations and the medical professionals that service them," according to a recent report. Services will be free until 2020. Forbes