By Cassie in July on July 9 2010
We all know the importance of using sunscreen to protect our skin from the sun’s harmful rays, but what about protection for our eyes?
July is UV Safety Month, and, Eye M.D.s across the nation are urging Americans to protect their eyes and their children’s eyes by wearing sunglasses and wide-brimmed hats.
“Recent studies have shown that prolonged exposure to the sun’s invisible, high energy ultraviolet rays without protection may cause eye conditions that can lead to vision loss, such as cataracts and age-related macular degeneration,” said Dr. [Name], an ophthalmologist practicing in [City]. “During the summer months the level of ultraviolet radiation is three times greater than in the winter.
Sunglasses and a wide-brimmed hat are the best defense system for your eyes against sunlight and harmful UV rays. To be effective, both must be worn every time you’re outside for prolonged periods of time, even when it’s overcast.
But what type of sunglasses should you buy? “The most important thing is to purchase sunglasses that block 99 to 100 percent of UV-A and UV-B rays,” said Dr. [Name]. “Don’t be misled by the color of the lens or the price tag dangling from the frame.”
The ability to block UV light is not dependent on the darkness of the lens. UV protection can come from adding chemicals to the lens material during manufacturing or from a chemical coating applied to the lens surface. And as for the cost, many $10 sunglasses provide equal or greater protection than a $100 pair. With expensive sunglasses, you’re paying for style, frame quality and options such as scratch-resistant coatings, and not necessarily protective UV ray blocking ability.
In addition to the damage caused by repeated sun exposure overtime, you need to protect your eyes from acute damage caused by a single day in the sun. Excessive exposure to ultraviolet light reflected off sand, snow or pavement can burn the eye’s surface. Similar to sunburns, eye surface burns usually disappear within a couple of days, but may lead to further complications later in life.
Eye health care is provided by the three “O’s” – opticians, optometrists and ophthalmologists. It is the ophthalmologist, or Eye M.D., who can treat it all – eye diseases and injuries, and perform eye surgery.
By Cassie in June 2010 on July 1 2010
FRANKFORT, Ky. (June 28, 2010) - The Kentucky state fire marshal encourages
Kentuckians to attend community fireworks displays instead of celebrating
with fireworks at home.
“Kentuckians who put on their own fireworks show not only run the risk of
injury, but also may be violating state law,” said William Swope Jr.,
Kentucky’s state fire marshal.
“Kentucky law doesn’t allow consumers to use the kind of fireworks
that can be viewed at professional shows,” Swope said. “For home use, the
law
permits only ‘Class C Safe and Sane’ fireworks. If a firework explodes or
shoots in the air, it’s illegal.”
Fire protection agencies and associations across the nation are
focusing this year’s education campaign on sparklers, a product that many
consumers deem ‘risk-free.’
“People consider sparklers to be harmless, but they’re not,” Swope
noted. “They burn extremely hot - 1200 degrees Fahrenheit - and they can
ignite clothing.”
Fireworks also should never be used where they could ignite
vegetation or structures, Swope said.
Class C fireworks include sparklers, cone fountains, ground spinners and
noisemakers. Firecrackers and rockets are not legal for home use. You must
be
16 years of age to purchase any fireworks in Kentucky.
For those who choose to use fireworks at home, here are some do’s and
don’ts.
DO:
* Buy from a reliable seller.
* Read and observe the label directions.
* Keep water handy - either a bucket or hose.
* Have adult supervision at all times.
* Dispose of fireworks by soaking them in water and throwing them in a
trash can.
DON’T:
* Re-light a “dud” firework.
* Give fireworks, including sparklers, to small children.
* Throw or point fireworks at anyone.
* Use fireworks close to dry vegetation, structure or any other
material that could ignite.
* Shoot fireworks in metal or glass containers.
Additional information on fireworks safety is available at the National
Council on Fireworks Safety Web site,
http://www.fireworksafety.com/safety.htm and the National Fire Protection
Association, http://www.nfpa.org/index.asp.
By Cassie in June 2010 on June 23 2010
Oct. 1, 2013, is the “firm date” for implementation of the new ICD-10 coding system for medical diagnoses, according to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS).
“A number of you have contacted us [about rumored delays], but I can assure you that this is a firm date,” Pat Brooks, senior technical adviser with CMS’ Hospital and Ambulatory Policy Group, said during a conference call with providers on Tuesday. Any claims submitted to Medicare on or after that date will not be accepted unless they use the new codes, Brooks stressed.
The ICD-10 is the 10th edition of the International Classification of Diseases, the manual most commonly used for coding medical diagnoses. ICD-10 has two parts: ICD-10-CM contains diagnosis codes, and ICD-10-PCS contains inpatient procedure codes.
Physicians who see only outpatients will not have to deal with ICD-10-PCS; they can continue using Current Procedural Terminology (CPT) codes for outpatient procedures. However, for diagnosis codes, they still will need to transition to ICD-10-CM from the ICD-9 codes currently in use, Brooks said.
ICD-10 diagnosis codes differ from ICD-9 codes in several respects, she noted:
- ICD-10 codes have three to seven characters, compared with three to five characters for ICD-9;
- ICD-10 codes always use a letter for their first character, while ICD-9 codes can have either a letter or a number as their first character;
- ICD-10 codes may include an “x” placeholder — something not used in ICD-9 codes.
But the biggest difference between the two coding sets is the number of codes involved. Because they are more complex and detailed, ICD-10 includes 69,099 diagnosis codes compared with only 14,315 ICD-9 codes.
By Cassie in June 2010 on June 22 2010
More than 15% of Americans don’t have health insurance, and among young adults ages 18 to 24, the percentage of those uninsured is nearly double that number, according to new CDC data.
In a 2009 survey, 46.3 million people — or 15.4% of the U.S. population — were without coverage, Robin A. Cohen, PhD, and colleagues reported in a National Center for Health Statistics brief.
About 19% of Americans went without any coverage for at least part of the year prior to the 2009 National Health Interview Survey (NHIS), and nearly 11% had been uninsured for more than a year at that time, they reported.
In general, rates of uninsured adults have been increasing over the last decade. The rate of uninsured adults ages 18 to 64 jumped to 21.1% in 2009 from 19.7% in 2008. Ten years earlier, that number stood at 17.8%.
On the other hand, coverage for children increased, the researchers said. Only 8.2% of those ages 18 and younger went without insurance at the time of the 2009 survey interview, down from 13.9% in 1997.
One-third of Hispanics were uninsured for part of the past year, and almost one-fourth had been without health insurance coverage for more than a year, based on data from the January to September 2009 NHIS.
By Cassie in June 2010 on June 22 2010
June 15, New York Times – (National) Ever since the September 11 attacks exposed the communications difficulty that police, fire and other personnel had in a crisis, government and public safety officials have wrestled with how to rebuild the nation’s emergency networks. Nine years later, that effort has reached a showdown between the Federal Communications Commission, which is seeking to auction off a block of wireless broadband spectrum to the private sector, and public safety officials, who say that the additional space on the public airwaves should be used instead for a dedicated emergency broadband network. With commercial wireless companies preparing to build the next generation of wireless communication networks, the resolution of the debate will determine whether public safety officials will be able to use the latest technology in emergencies. The two sides will face off on June 17 (today) at a hearing before the House Subcommittee on Communications, Technology and the Internet, which is considering legislation to pay for a public safety network.
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