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November 2012

Physician Overcomes TBI to Return to Active-Duty Medicine

BETHESDA, MD — It never occurred to Lt. Col. Eric Holt, DO, that he wouldn’t fully recover from the multiple injuries — including traumatic brain injury — he suffered when an IED hit his vehicle in Afghanistan. The blast ripped the vehicle apart and threw Holt into a compound wall.

Complementary Therapies Highly Effective for PTSD

Symptoms Significantly Reduced
SAN DIEGO — Only a few sessions of two complementary medicine techniques worked as well or better than more standard therapies for post-traumatic stress disorder in active-duty servicemembers, according to a recent study.

Invasive Fungal Infections Complicate Treatment, Increase Mortality of IED-Wounded Servicemembers

BETHESDA, MD -Invasive fungal wound infections are on the increase in military personnel wounded by improvised explosive devices, leading to significant morbidity and even death in some cases where the victims initially survived.

Despite Formulary, High-Cost Diabetes Drug Use Varies Widely Across VA Facilities

PITTSBURGH — Despite a tightly managed national formulary, the use of high-cost drugs to treat diabetes shows “substantial” variation across the VA healthcare system, according to a new research letter.

Many Healthcare Providers Lose VA Retention Bonuses

WASHINGTON — In response to congressional criticism and an Inspector General’s report last year, VA has restricted use of retention bonuses across its healtpencil_white.jpgh system, in effect reducing compensation for more than 6,700 employees.
Please read this article and participate in this month's online opinion poll whether VA should be allowed to rescind retention bonuses for healthcare providers without explanation or recourse?

Federal Medicine Organizational Meetings - Tarred with the Same Brush?

The recent General Services Administration (GSA) Las Vegas conference scandal, involving clowns and a mind reader (I could not dream this stuff up if I tried), must seem like manna from heaven for the likes of John Stewart and Stephen Colbert.

Another Hit to Pocketbook: Federal Pay Freeze Continues

WASHINGTON--Federal civilian healthcare professionals hoping that the federal pay freeze would be lifted this holiday season will have to wait a little longer. President Obama signed legislation at the end of September that will extend the two-year federal pay freeze through March 2013.

Services in Question as Sequestration Looms

WASHINGTON — The clock is ticking in Washington as the January 2013 implementation of sequestration looms ever nearer. Pentagon officials warned that such drastic cuts would make it difficult to pay Defense Health Program providers and likely would require denial of services to beneficiaries.

Air Force Says Changes to F-22 Aircraft Will Let Pilots Breathe Easier in Flight

WASHINGTON — Pilots will be able to breathe easier as a result of changes to the oxygen systems in the F-22 aircraft, Air Force officials recently assured a House committee. The F-22 fleet has been under intense scrutiny after some pilots flying the aircraft mysteriously experienced an unexplained loss of oxygen, causing hypoxia-like symptoms.

Removing Junk Food from Schools Could Increase Pool of Potential Military Recruits

Report Says Young Americans Still ‘Too Fat to Fight’.
WASHINGTON — With 1 in 4 young adults too overweight to join the military, a group of retired senior military leaders offers this advice: Remove junk food from the schools.

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