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Fifth Military Vision Research Symposium to take place from Sept. 18-20

Eye injuries in war have changed - and increased in number - as weapons, tactics, technology and strategies have evolved. Today's soldiers face threats from explosive devices that cause extensive damage areas not protected by body armor. Military experts and ophthalmologists from the Schepens Eye Research Institute, Massachusetts Eye and Ear will convene in Boston, Mass., on Sept. 18 to address these issues at the Fifth Military Vision Research Symposium.

15 Sep 2012

Cardiovascular mortality in Brazil has increased 3.5 times more than in other developing countries

Despite Brazil's successful prevention campaigns which have contributed to a reduction in risk factors such as smoking, cardiovascular disease (CVD) remains the first cause of death in the country, at 32%. Tobacco consumption and decrease of salt in local diets are some of the risk factors that will be discussed at the 67th Annual Congress of the Brazilian Society of Cardiology which takes place in Recife, Brazil from 14 to 17 September 2012.

15 Sep 2012

Children's Hospital of Philadelphia earns spot on InformationWeek 500 list

The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia achieved high rankings in the annual information technology (IT) rankings announced this week by the industry publication InformationWeek. The Hospital ranked among both the top 10 innovators in the healthcare industry, and on the list of Top 20 Great Ideas, for defining and streamlining clinicians' access to electronic health records, while keeping those records secure.

15 Sep 2012

Obama leads in latest polls

News outlets report that President Barack Obama fared well in several battleground states after the political conventions, posing a challenge for GOP nominee Mitt Romney.

15 Sep 2012

SLU study: Many U.S. schools not prepared for bioterrorism attacks, outbreaks of pandemics

Many U.S. schools are not prepared for bioterrorism attacks, outbreaks of emerging infectious diseases or pandemics, despite the recent 2009 H1N1 influenza pandemic that resulted in more than 18,000 deaths worldwide, Saint Louis University researchers say.

15 Sep 2012

Articles examine food, water security issues

The following articles examining food and water security were published on Thursday. The U.N. News Centre writes, "The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) have called on the private sector to invest massively in agriculture, stressing that this is vital to winning the fight against hunger."

15 Sep 2012

USAID helping to improve child survival worldwide

Chris Thomas of the USAID Bureau for Global Health writes in the agency's "IMPACT Blog," "America's legacy in child survival is a proud one: With strong bipartisan support, U.S. support of global health has saved many millions of lives."

15 Sep 2012

Why are health care costs increasing at a slower rate?

Health care spending increased by just 3.9 percent in 2010 and 3.8 percent in 2009. And within Medicare, the spending slowdown has been even more dramatic: Instead of the program's average 6 percent annual increase per beneficiary in recent years, 2010's rate was 0.2 percent. In 2011, it was 2.8 percent.

15 Sep 2012

Medicare policies continue to claim campaign trail attention

The presidential and vice presidential candidates compare and contrast their plans, and some fact checkers set to work on sorting out what they are saying.

15 Sep 2012

Popular Science magazine names UCLA professor among ‘Brilliant 10’

Popular Science magazine has named Aydogan Ozcan, an associate professor of electrical engineering and bioengineering at UCLA, one of the world's "Brilliant 10" scientists in its October 2012 issue.

15 Sep 2012

Health Net sued over 'medically unnecessary' coverage denials

Some Californians are suing Health Net over the insurer's refusal to cover some treatments after it deemed them medically unnecessary.

15 Sep 2012

Treatment access is essential component of fight against NCDs

"The non-communicable disease [NCD] community always talks about the importance of prevention; many consider it the Holy Grail in the fight against NCDs. Why was it so hard to also accept treatment as part of the solution?" Princess Dina Mired, director general of the King Hussein Cancer Foundation in Amman, Jordan, asks in the Huffington Post "Impact" blog, noting only one target of the 2011 U.N. High-Level Meeting on NCDs "deals with treatment, the target on 'essential medicines and basic technologies for treatment.'"

15 Sep 2012

Research roundup: Patients' experiences at safety-net hospitals

Each week KHN reporter Ankita Rao compiles a selection of recently released health policy studies and briefs.

15 Sep 2012

Spending measure passes House with Ryan's support

House Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan, R-Wis., returned to the chamber Thursday for the first time since he became the GOP vice presidential candidate, casting his vote for a measure that raised spending above the levels in his own budget. Republicans hailed him, while Democrats released a video highlighting his proposal to overhaul Medicare as a fixed subsidy program.

15 Sep 2012

Most Californians say they couldn't pay for nursing home care

A new survey of Californians finds that most residents say they couldn't afford to pay for care in a nursing home for a family member.

15 Sep 2012

Court denies Maine Medicaid lawsuit, says to give CMS time to rule on cuts

A federal appeals court rejected a Maine lawsuit Thursday and said the state -- which wants to cut 30,000 from its Medicaid rolls -- needs to allow the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services time to review its request.

15 Sep 2012

Floods, Cholera in Niger have claimed 162 lives since July, OCHA reports

"Floods in Niger have killed 81 people since July, the U.N. Office for Humanitarian Affairs [OCHA] announced Thursday, adding cholera outbreaks have killed a further 81 people," Agence France-Presse reports.

15 Sep 2012

Brandeis University biology professor receives NIH Director's New Innovator award

Chances are you didn't spend much time this morning getting your shoes on or thinking about which route you would take to work. But for people suffering with debilitating diseases such as ALS (Lou Gehrig's disease) or Alzheimer's, such simple functions -- and even activities like breathing and eating -- can be a struggle.

15 Sep 2012

AHIP offers advice on essential benefits and keeping premium costs affordable

Meanwhile, Kansas officials are facing a ticking clock as they try to develop recommendations for what should make up the state's essential benefits in individual and small group health insurance policies.

15 Sep 2012

University of Rochester faculty member to receive Ant-nio Champalimaud Vision Award

David Williams, a faculty member of the University of Rochester's Institute of Optics, director of its Center for Visual Science, and dean for research in Arts, Science, and Engineering, will receive the Ant-nio Champalimaud Vision Award at a ceremony today in Lisbon, Portugal.

15 Sep 2012