Health Care

Your Health

Some Patients Say Life After Lasik Not Perfect

May 1, 2008 · About 5 percent of patients are unhappy with the results of their Lasik procedure. Some cite lack of information about possible results to be key. The FDA is beginning a Lasik study and wants to hear from those who are dissatisfied.Web Extra: Physician Q&A;

Army Hospitals Struggle to Stop Drug Overdoses

May 1, 2008 · Since June, there has been a rash of accidental overdoses at Army hospitals, including at least six that have resulted in deaths. The hospitals have implemented new policies, including a ban on drinking in barracks.

Health & Science

In Alaska: The Dental Therapist Will See You Now

April 29, 2008 · In small towns and villages across Alaska, people can't get dental care. The Alaska Native Tribal Health Consortium is training neighbors to help neighbors as dental therapists. Project manager Carol Odinzoff explains the push to help bush communities stay healthy.

Baxter CEO Says Heparin Purposely Tainted

April 29, 2008 · Relatives of victims killed by contaminated heparin testify on Capitol Hill on Tuesday. The CEO of Baxter Inc., the company that manufactures the drug, says it appears that the contaminant was deliberately added to the heparin by a supplier in China.

Research News

Report: Feds Ignored Blood-Substitute Dangers

April 28, 2008 · A report appearing the Journal of the American Medical Association says federal health officials permitted studies of blood substitutes to continue for years after learning that the substitutes posed health risks.

Geneticists Hail Senate Vote on DNA Discrimination

April 25, 2008 · The Senate has passed a bill banning employers and insurers from discrimination based on DNA tests. The bill would bar health insurance companies from using genetic information to set premiums or determine enrollment eligibility.

Politics & Society

Senate OKs Bill Outlawing Genetic Discrimination

April 24, 2008 · The Senate has unanimously passed a bill more than a decade in the making that scientists say could help herald the age of personalized medicine. It would outlaw insurance or employment discrimination based on a person's genetics, which may make people less worried about being tested.

Bush Meets Resistance on Medicaid Spending Plan

April 23, 2008 · Members of Congress and President Bush are heading for another showdown over health care. This time it involves a series of regulations the administration says will save the Medicaid program billions of dollars. But the nation's governors and health care providers say it will unfairly pass costs to states and hurt patients.

Heparin Hearing on Capitol Hill Turns Feisty

April 22, 2008 · The head of the Food and Drug Administration Andrew von Eschenbach testifies before a House subcommittee about planned improvements to oversee the foreign manufacture of drug ingredients. The hearing comes after tainted batches of the blood thinner Heparin were linked to a dozen Chinese companies.

World

Dying Afghan Girl Leaves Country for Surgery

April 22, 2008 · Adila, a young Afghan girl with a life-threatening heart defect, has been dispatched to Pakistan, where it is hoped she will undergo emergency surgery. But some worry she won't survive the trip.

Your Health

Internet Health Records: Convenience at a Cost?

April 17, 2008 · Web sites that allow you to store information about your medical care provide both you and your doctors quick access to records. But maintaining them can be time-consuming, or worse, can jeopardize your privacy.

Election 2008

McCain on Health Care: Cutting Costs Is Key

April 17, 2008 · Both Democratic presidential candidates continue to debate their plans to cover the 47 million Americans who currently have no health insurance. But presumptive GOP nominee John McCain's plan would move the nation's health care system in a different direction.