This month US Medicine focuses on the widespread medical problem that is diabetes. Affecting over 17 million Americans, or 6.2% of the population, almost 6 million of this population does not even know they have the disease, according to The Obesity Society at www.obesity.org.

WASHINGTON, DC—The first design project Patricia Moore undertook was to build a touch-sensitive lamp for her grandfather, a veteran whose fingers were no longer able to grip and twist the switch on his lamp.

WASHINGTON, DC—DoD is providing new online training to its medical personnel for administering deployment mental health assessments to deploying and returning servicemembers.

WASHINGTON, DC—Military and civilian researchers are embarking on efforts to develop regenerative therapies that could help injured servicemembers who survived the battlefield, but have sustained serious facial injuries.

WASHINGTON, DC—Concerned about several high-profile, high-cost IT project failures over the last several years, legislators called VA officials to Capital Hill last month to provide reassurance that the agency has learned from its past mistakes.

WASHINGTON, DC—Not all pain is gain. Unmanaged chronic pain in injured servicemembers and veterans can lead to negative health effects that can last a lifetime, speakers said at an educational forum on pain management held at Walter Reed Army Medical Center (WRAMC).

WASHINGTON, DC—A House subcommittee questioned military officials about efforts to prevent and control multidrug-resistant infections at MTFs.

WASHINGTON, DC—A House committee expressed concern to military officials in September about DoD’s plan to save billions of dollars through an efficiency initiative announced by DoD Secretary Robert Gates this year. That plan recommends disestablishing US Joint Forces Command, in addition to directing the services to find more than $100 billion in overhead savings over the next five years, among other proposals.

BETHESDA, MD—“So you see a diagnostic error. That error occurs at the sharp end of medicine,” declared Dr Mark Graber, chief of medical services at the Northport VA Medical Center. “You look at where the diagnostic error occurred, you can always find a clinician, or sometimes two, to point the finger of blame at.

WASHINGTON, DC—“The whole idea is to look at diabetes as the enemy. Instead of just attacking the enemy from one end, you want to attack the enemy from all sides. Surround the enemy.”