March 2009 Briefing - Ophthalmology

Here are what the editors at HealthDay consider to be the most important developments in Ophthalmology for March 2009. This roundup includes the latest research news from journal articles, as well as the FDA approvals and regulatory changes that are the most likely to affect clinical practice.

Safe Practice Scores Do Not Add Up to Fewer Patient Deaths

TUESDAY, March 31 (HealthDay News) -- In hospitals, higher self-reported scores for improvements in safe practices do not correlate with reduced mortality rates, researchers report in the April 1 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association.

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Mass Antibiotic Program Can Offer Trachoma Herd Protection

FRIDAY, March 27 (HealthDay News) -- Herd immunity to trachoma can be achieved through repeated rounds of mass antibiotic administration to children, who are a core means of transmission for the eye disease, according to a report published in the March 28 issue of The Lancet.

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Cost Barriers Slow Adoption of Electronic Health Records

WEDNESDAY, March 25 (HealthDay News) -- Citing cost barriers, relatively few U.S. hospitals have adopted electronic health records, posing a major obstacle for policy makers who say health information technology is critical to the improvement of health care quality and cost-effectiveness, according to an article published online March 25 in the New England Journal of Medicine.

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US Diabetic Retinopathy Cases Set to Triple by 2050

WEDNESDAY, Mar. 11 (HealthDay News) -- As the number of Americans with diabetes continues to rise, so will the incidence of diabetes-related eye diseases such as diabetic retinopathy, cataracts and glaucoma, according to an editorial published in the March issue of the Archives of Ophthalmology.

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Insurance Status Affects Access to Eye Care

TUESDAY, Mar. 10 (HealthDay News) -- Uninsured Americans are far less likely than their insured counterparts to seek the services of an eye care professional, researchers report in the March issue of the Archives of Ophthalmology.

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Macular Degeneration Linked with Range of Illnesses

TUESDAY, Mar. 10 (HealthDay News) -- Elderly patients with age-related macular degeneration are more likely than their counterparts without the eye disease to experience a wide range of illnesses, including depression, hip fracture and blindness, according to a report published in the March issue of the Archives of Ophthalmology.

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Transdermal Patches Pose Burn Risk During Scans

FRIDAY, Mar. 6 (HealthDay News) -- The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has issued a warning about the risk of burns as a result of wearing medicated patches, such as those used for smoking cessation or pain relief, during MRI scans.

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Obama Wants to Spend $630 Billion on Health Care Reform

THURSDAY, Mar. 5 (HealthDay News) -- Achieving health care reform is one of President Barack Obama's major challenges, and his newly released spending plan calls on Congress to commit $630 billion over the next decade to finance that reform, according to an article published online Mar. 4 in the New England Journal of Medicine.

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US Motor Vehicle-Related Death Rates Vary Geographically

MONDAY, Mar. 2 (HealthDay News) -- Although the mortality rate related to motor vehicles remained almost unchanged from 1999 to 2005 in the United States, on closer inspection the data reveals wide variations from state to state, as well as by gender and ethnicity, according to a report published in the Feb. 27 issue of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report.

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