SALT LAKE CITY, Jan. 3, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Alliance Health Networks, a leading developer of social networks in health, announced today that Joslin Diabetes Center, the world's leading diabetes research and clinical care organization, has begun actively participating in its Diabetic Connect social network (www.diabeticconnect.com). This effort is part of a joint initiative to engage and educate people with diabetes and those who care for them.

With this partnership, Diabetic Connect's 650,000 members can interact with Joslin's experts, including diabetes educators, endocrinologists and clinicians, following their posts, asking questions and tracking discussions of interest.

"Joslin's participation is the first time a clinician's perspective is woven into the Diabetic Connect community, which will enable our members to engage with practitioners from the world's preeminent diabetes organization," said Stead Burwell, chief executive officer at Alliance Health Networks. "We feel privileged to work with Joslin Diabetes Center and believe they will have a significant impact on the lives of all of our Diabetic Connect members."

Additionally, Alliance Health Networks and Joslin are developing other diabetes management tools, including interactive, online classes. The first of these will be "Monitoring Matters," which  will consist of a series of interactive tutorials that will be hosted on Diabetic Connect and on Joslin's website (www.joslin.org).

"Our goal at Joslin is to help people with diabetes live long, healthy lives," said Richard Jackson, M.D., Director of Medical Affairs, Healthcare Services, Joslin Diabetes Center. "Working with Diabetic Connect and the Alliance Health platform is a great way to extend our reach by being able to inform and encourage the many people who participate in the site and are affected by diabetes."

About Alliance Health Networks
Since 2006, Alliance Health has focused on building a scalable technology platform to support a wide array of health-related social networks, each focused on a specific health interest. The company owns and operates more than 50 social networks and has more than 1 million registered members. The sites enable patients and caregivers to form relationships, engage in conversations, share treatments and comment on services and products.  Alliance Health's flagship social network is Diabetic Connect, with more than 650,000 registered members. Investors in Alliance Health Networks include New World Ventures, Physic Ventures, Highway 12 Ventures and EPIC Ventures. For more information, visit www.AllianceHealthNetworks.com.

About Joslin Diabetes Center
Joslin Diabetes Center is the world's preeminent diabetes research and clinical care organization. Joslin is dedicated to ensuring that people with diabetes live long, healthy lives and, through its cutting-edge research and innovative approaches to clinical care and education, offers real hope and progress toward diabetes prevention and a cure. Joslin is an independent, nonprofit institution affiliated with Harvard Medical School. For more information about Joslin, visit www.joslin.org.

SOURCE Alliance Health Networks