Cities Sue Manufacturer of Weed-Killer Found in Tap Water

A coalition of communities in six Midwestern states filed a federal lawsuit Monday seeking to force the manufacturer of a widely-used herbicide to pay for its removal from drinking water.

By Danielle Ivory8 March 2010

As Afghan Contracting Surges, Who's Following the Money?

In the past eight years, the United States has allocated $51 billion to rebuild and stabilize Afghanistan. But tracking that money sometimes seems as challenging as finding the leaders of the Taliban.

By Christine Spolar3 March 2010

Experts: Safety Oversight Needed as Patient Records Go Digital

Though electronic health records may greatly improve medical care in the future, the technology poses a host of safety concerns that demand attention to protect patients from harm, witnesses told a government panel meeting in Washington on Thursday.
 
Safety issues are surfacing as the government tees up a plan to spend billions of dollars in stimulus money to help doctors and hospitals adopt the systems. Digitizing medicine is a high priority in the Obama administration’s campaign to reform health care.
 

By Fred Schulte and Emma Schwartz
25 February 2010

FDA Considers Regulating Safety of Electronic Health Systems

Concerned about potential safety risks in health information technology, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration may be moving closer to regulating the systems for the first time. 

In the past two years, the agency has received reports of six patient deaths and several dozen injuries linked to malfunctions in the systems, Jeffrey Shuren, director of the FDA’s Center for Devices and Radiological Health, said in testimony prepared for a government hearing on Thursday. 

By Fred Schulte and Emma Schwartz
23 February 2010