If Mark Bertolini's vision plays out, medical patients will soon be able to thumb through their smartphones for the best deals on X-rays and flu shots, much like shoppers now hunt for bargains on electronics, clothing and other goods.

"Mobile apps are going to change our industry," said Bertolini, Sloan '84, chairman, CEO and president of health insurance giant Aetna, in his keynote address to 120 guests May 7 at the Sloan Program in Health Administration's annual Wagner Memorial Dinner.

The company is committing about $400 million annually to technology development, with apps on the way to process claims and schedule appointments, to allow patients and providers easy access to electronic medical records and for users to self-diagnose their symptoms.

Bertolini, who occasionally resolves customer concerns through his personal Twitter feed, is equally bullish about the power of such social media tools to provide service and convenience. "The conversation is fundamentally different on social media than it is over phone or e-mail," he said.

In 2007, Bertolini became further convinced of technology's role in improving health care after a frustrating experience with the medical field's antiquated information networks. He was preparing to donate a kidney to his son when the transplant surgeon couldn't find his test results and wanted to order a fresh round of X-rays. Bertolini got on his Blackberry, found the file in his e-mail and forwarded it to the doctor.

"When my dry cleaner knows more about the whereabouts of my shirts than my doctor does about the whereabouts of my X-rays, we have a technology problem in health care," Bertolini said. "Everybody uses technology, but when we enter the health care system it's like we put it all away."

Thus, Bertolini noted, improvements in health information technology go beyond patient convenience and are critical to lowering costs in medical care. The 2010 Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act is "a first step" in fixing U.S. health care, he said, but "it's not a good cost solution." Bertolini warned of a looming fiscal crisis in the coming decade if the government, providers and insurers do not join together to curb expenditures for Medicare and Medicaid.

"We have an entitlement problem that has to be fixed," said Bertolini, citing projections that 85 percent of the increase in the federal budget deficit in the next 10 years will come from Medicare and Medicaid.

The rise of preventive chronic diseases, particularly those tied to conditions like obesity, will add more strain to U.S. and global health care systems, Bertolini added.

Despite such challenges, Bertolini told the Sloan students in attendance that they'll be poised to drive health care reform.

"I can't think of a more exciting time to be involved in this industry," Bertolini said. "You're right at the center of it; it's a great time to figure out where we're headed."

Ted Boscia is assistant director of communications for the College of Human Ecology.