If you have followed this column, you know I’m a sailor. In fact, my family has long been associated with sailing. My wife and I both grew up around sailing boats, and our children have rarely known a year to pass without various sailing adventures at home on the Chesapeake Bay and in the Caribbean. Though I am quite proud of my career as a federal medicine physician in the Army, I fancy myself plying the world’s oceans as an 18^th century sailing captain of a frigate.

WASHINGTON — The past few years have seen a revolution in personal technology. Smartphones and tablet computers have made all the functions of the personal computer and the Internet completely portable and far more convenient.

ST. PAUL, MN — The Defense and Veterans Affairs departments reached an agreement with 3M that has the potential to go far beyond integrating electronic health records between the two departments. The deal could galvanize efforts to implement and integrate medical information and securely share patient data between physicians and facilities across the globe.

About 20% of patients presenting with Stage IV solid tumors never receive anticancer therapy, including more than 12% of those with breast cancer, according to a new study presented at the recent meeting of the American Society for Clinical Oncology.