AT&T has launched a major, coordinated foray into the healthcare sector, aimed at lowering costs and supporting a fundamental change in how care is delivered, among other things, according to John Stankey, CEO of AT&T Business Solutions. Currently, AT&T provides wireless connectivity for Vitality GlowCaps--"smart" caps that go on prescription bottles and use light, sound and phone/text reminders to help patients with medication compliance. Through its "Healthcare Community Online," AT&T aims to eliminate, or at least reduce, the occurrence of unnecessary duplicate tests by supporting a health information exchange service that helps providers share EMRs online in a "highly secure manner," according to the company. AT&T also has two pilot programs in the works: one involving "smart slippers" and the other focusing on diabetes management. The goal of the smart slippers project is to help prevent patient falls, or at least to quicken the response time to such falls, by wirelessly monitoring a patient's walking style. The diabetes pilot will be deployed on a select number of AT&T employees, helping them to manage their disease proactively rather than reactively. -- Read the full FierceHealthIT story