Archive for March, 2010
March 31st, 2010 | 
Author: A doctor and a US veteran are currently being held under the surveillance of Philippine authorities in connection with the scam that victimized an American military health insurance programme.
Lawyer Claro de Castro, chief of the National Bureau of Investigation’s Interpol division, stated extradition cases are coursed through the Department of Justice (DOJ). He explained once the DOJ approves an extradition request a warrant of arrest will be issued and the NBI will serve it.
However, De Castro denied requests to reveal the identities of the two suspects so as not to jeopardize police operations.
In 2007, de Castro said a US veteran was extradited to the United States for his involvement in a scam that had been paid by TRICARE, the US Department of Defence’s worldwide healthcare programme for active duty and retired uniformed services members and their families, more than $100 million through fraudulent claims.
The scheme involved Philippine health providers, which were accused of getting kickbacks from false claims, inflated by as much as 2,000 percent, filed with TRICARE for medical services.
De Castro said the American veteran’s plea agreement with the US government was a bargain. The bargain consisted of the US government reduced the veteran’s pension after he admitted to overcharging his health claims by an estimated $35,000. The veteran had since returned to the Philipines.
Justice Secretary Raul Gonzalez, however, said his office has yet to receive an extradition request from Washington. ‘If there are people here and they have been indicted in the US and they ask us for extradition, we have no recourse but to comply because of the extradition treaty,’ Gonzalez said.
He anyhow maintained that the extradition proceedings might take particularly long, in particular if the accused questions the extradition request before the local courts.
Gonzalez added that he was not surprised when reports regarding the fraud came out, citing an incident in which a health provider operating in Subic, Angeles City and Bacolod was blacklisted due to fraudulent claims.
The justice chief said the health provider has overcharged and manipulated a patient’s medical records.
On April 22, 2008, the online edition of Marinas Variety reported that a Filipino doctor was arrested and charged with conspiracy, aiding and abetting, and filing of false claims in Wisconsin in connection with the kickbacks he purportedly got from TRICARE claims.
It was reported that Diogenese Dionisio would allegedly give the beneficiaries between 40 to 80 percent of the amount of the claim while the rest of the money would go to him and his clinic, CDMF Medical Clinic in Mandaluyong City. In 2006, a former American administrator of Philippine health provider, Health Visions Corporation, pleaded guilty to defrauding the TRICARE program. Thomas Arthur Lutz was charged with participating in a conspiracy with Health Visions and a physician in the Philippines to double bill TRICARE and kickback the inflated payments to the health provider.
On Thursday reports said a US judge ordered Health Visions to pay back the $100 million it swindled from TRICARE. An Associated Press report said Health Visions was ordered to liquidate all its assets within months and give the proceeds to the US government. On top of the $99.9 million in restitution, Crabb directed the company to forfeit an additional $910,000 and pay a $500,000 fine.
Under Crabb’s decision, the report said the Health Visions will be required to sell off land, office buildings and hospitals in the Philippines and an airplane and houses in the US. Meanwhile, Commissioner Eduardo Malinis of the Office of Insurance said Health Visions is not part of its roster of insurance companies.
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Eyes are the most attractive part of our body. But, they can even become a source of embarrassment. A web of spiders or dark circles around the eye area are a very common problem for all. And, undoubtedly, they make us look a lot older than our actual ages. So, the focus of this article is to take care of eyes and make them look beautiful instead of being tired.
General Tips for Eyes
Wash eyes with cold water whenever you feel like. If you feel your eyes are tired or face a burning sensation in them, splash them with cold water. This would relieve your eyes of their tiredness and make them look brighter.
Removing toxins from your eyes every day is one habit you should develop. As soon as you wake up in the morning, before washing your face, do a simple exercise which will emit toxins from your eyes and clean them. Stand in an open space or near a window and stare hard at a far away object without blinking till your eyes are teary. Let the tears flow out. They would carry toxins with them. In case you are not able to stop blinking, you may use your fingers to hold your eyes open forcibly. Hold both your lids with your fingers and stare ahead. Make sure your hands are clean. Doing this every day will make your eyes look brighter.
Exercise your eyes regularly. There are various exercises you can do.
One is rapid closing and opening of your eyes as tightly as you can. Close your eyes tightly and pull all your face muscles in a taut condition. Open your eyes and mouth as wide as possible. Repeat the procedure.
Another is rotating your eyes in all directions. One thing to remember while doing the eye exercises is to blink a lot.
Done with the general tips for eye care, we come to more specific and most common problems of eyes.
Dark Circles. They are the second most common dermatological problem, first being Acne. One thing that should be considered before getting a cure for dark circles is heredity. It you have inherited dark circles from your mother or father, it may be difficult for you to get rid of them. The only thing you can do is to try to reduce them using regular home remedies. Place thin apple slices over your eyes and relax for 15 – 20 minutes. Do this every day. You might repeat this in the morning and evening. Or, put chilled tea bags or cotton balls on your eyes. They also provide relief from dark circles. The best habit you can cultivate to reduce the dark circles is to sleep with your head at an elevated position than the rest of your body. This would keep the blood circulation in the face at the minimum and hence, the pronouncement of darkness around your eyes.
Puffy Eyes. Reduce your salt and sugar intake. Do not take huge amounts of liquid at night two hours prior to sleep. Keep water consumption also to a bare minimum. Put a slice of potato to reduce puffy eyes. Applying warm compress would be helpful. A great remedy is to apply fig slices. They would get rid of puffy eyes in matter of minutes to hours. One exercise you can do to get rid of puffy eyes is to hold the lower eye area with a finger and close your eyes with force. Do this repeatedly as long as you can everyday.
Wrinkles. Once they appear, they are most difficult to get rid of. There are many home remedies to get rid of wrinkles. First, apply a thick layer of egg white around your eyes and let it stay for 15 30 minutes. This is possibly the best home remedy. Next is mix turmeric and sugarcane juice and apply on your eyes area. Wipe it off in 15 minutes. You can massage your face with coconut oil at night to get rid of wrinkles and fine lines on your face. Apply pure castor oil to prevent appearance of wrinkles.
Last, but not the least, we come to the part of how to make your eyes look more beautiful. This has not got anything to do with make up. I am talking about taking care of your eyelashes. Longer and thicker the eyelashes, they lend more grace and beauty to your eyes and make them look exquisite. Apply sweet almond oil or pure castor oil every night to your eyelashes using a mascara brush. Saturate your eyelashes in the oil nicely. Keep in mind, whatever is good for your hair is good for your eyelashes. So, you can become more creative too.
A word of Caution: Never ever think of clipping your eyelashes as a resort to make them longer. They lose their delicate sweep which becomes the beauty of such thick lashes. Visit my blog for more such articles on skin and hair care.
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What is normal vision?
Normal vision occurs when there is no abnormality in the structure or function of the eye, and you can see objects clearly from both near and far. It is also a term used by eye doctors to describe what a â??normalâ? person can see when looking at an eye chart.Â
Children’s Eye Health and Safety
More than 12 million children suffer from visual impairment.
Vision problems affect one in twenty preschoolers and one in four school-aged children.
Vision problems can begin at an early age; therefore it is important that children receive proper eye care. Untreated problems can worsen and lead to permanent vision loss and delayed development.
Causes of blindness
When you think about it, the very act of actually seeing the world around us is an astonishing thing. It relies on the interaction between the brain and the eyeball, two extraordinarily complex organs, so it’s hardly surprising that there are so many ways in which we can suffer sight loss or reduction.
Cataract
Cataract is the clouding of the eye’s lens – the part of the eye responsible for focusing light and producing clear, sharp images.
River blindness
River blindness is caused by a worm that breeds in fast-flowing rivers. It is a major cause of blindness in west and central Africa. Sightsavers is combating it with the drug Mectizan.
Eye Cancer
Cancer of the eye is uncommon. It can affect the outer parts of the eye, such as the eyelid, which are made up of muscles, skin and nerves. If the cancer starts inside the eyeball it’s called intraocular cancer. The most common intraocular cancers in adults are melanoma and lymphoma. The most common eye cancer in children is retinoblastoma, which starts in the cells of the retina.
What Are the Symptoms of Age-Related Macular Degeneration?
Symptoms of macular degeneration include:
Straight lines start to appear distorted, or the center of vision becomes distorted
Diminished or changed color perception
Treatment
Here is no cure, but age-related macular degeneration treatments may prevent severe vision loss or slow the progression of the disease considerably. Several treatment options are available, including:
Vitamins. A large study performed by the National Eye Institute of the National Institutes of Health, called AREDS (Age-Related Eye Disease Study), showed that for certain individuals, vitamins C, E, beta-carotene, zinc, and copper can decrease the risk of vision loss in patients with intermediate to advanced dry age-related macular degeneration.
Laser therapy. High-energy laser light can sometimes be used to destroy actively growing abnormal blood vessels that occur in age-related macular degeneration.
Photodynamic laser therapy. A two-step treatment in which a light-sensitive drug is used to damage the abnormal blood vessels. A doctor injects the drug into the bloodstream to be absorbed by the abnormal blood vessels in the eye.
Nutrition for the Eyes
Carrots contain a carotenoid called beta-carotene. Your body converts beta-carotene into vitamin A which is an anti-oxidant. Anti-oxidants such as vitamin A are essential to eye health.
An antioxidant is any substance that prevents or impedes cell oxidation (destruction) by free radicals. A deficiency in vitamin A can lead to many problems, but this typically is not an issue in the U.S., more so in developing countries.
Natural eye health
Ocu-Care+ is a Scientifically Advanced Ocular Nutraceutical Dietary Supplement formulated to specifically address the needs of the physiology and function of the eye. Specific nutritional care and support for our eyes can help preserve our eyesight from waning as we grow older as well as help protect us from specific eye problems and common but incapacitating dysfunction.
We all know that eyes are very important for us but why do we tend to take them for granted. We have been to busy taking care of our skin, hair, and other parts of our body but we have put aside eye care most of the time.As people age, most experience a reduction in their vision. For some it means not being able to see far away and for some it means reading things close up, like a menu, becomes more difficult. No matter how this problem manifests itself, it’s always frustrating. Fortunately, by following a few eye care tips, you can reduce your chances of having serious eye problems.Consider your lighting. While proper, scientific lighting is available today for everyone, an overwhelming number of people regard their lighting fixtures from the viewpoint of their decorative value rather than of their value to the eyes. There is no reason why a light cannot be both decorative and useful, but it is not common sense to select it primarily for its decorative value.
Very few people realize that there are a number of specific exercises and regular steps you can take to keep your eyes healthy and working properly. If you start a regular regime of self-administered eye related treatments you can reduce soreness and swelling quite quickly and maintain the proper function of your eyes. Although there are many such treatments we have dealt with some of the more simple and inexpensive eye care tips that are available to you.The most used part of our body is the eyes. Have you noticed that you get migraines from driving especially during the night when you encounter bright lights from other cars? I usually have them. I found out that well rested eyes would mean lesser migraines. Rest is one important role in taking care of your eyes.Getting regular eye appointments is one of the most eye care tips, this being because your eyes will have to strain and make adjustment to see as well as they are able to as your vision decreases. Straining such as this can create you to get headaches as well as decrease your eyes ability to adjust to light. Whatever state your eyes are in it is important to make sure you have the correct current prescription for your eyes.
Consider your lighting. While proper, scientific lighting is available today for everyone, an overwhelming number of people regard their lighting fixtures from the viewpoint of their decorative value rather than of their value to the eyes. There is no reason why a light cannot be both decorative and useful, but it is not common sense to select it primarily for its decorative value.Another important recommendation to assist in eliminating sore and red eyes is to keep your eyes protected against the harsh rays of the sun. Whenever you are out in the sun for extended periods of time you should, wherever possible, always wear UV protection enhanced sunglasses. If you are lying on the beach for example you should also cover your eyes with a towel or hat so as to avoid the sun’s piercing rays.
People who have a pet chair in which they like to read overlook the fact that there may be no adequate light near the page. People start to read by bright daylight, become engrossed, and do not notice that as twilight falls, the light grows dimmer and dimmer, until they are straining to make out the words on the printed page.
good eye care habits
Having good eyesight is very important. A good vision helps you to see clearly far and wide. It’s very important that we maintain healthy eyesight to perform different tasks and activities. As a person starts growing older he might feel some aging around his eyes. But just aging does not mean that he will lose his eyesight forever. There are many aged people of more than 80 years who continue to maintain good eyesight.
The color black creates a sense of fear within us. No one wants to get blind and live in darkness forever. Every one of us wants to enjoy the true beauty of this world and welcome brightness everyday in our lives. You can continue to have healthy eyesight. For this it’s very important that you take good eye care. Proper and regular eye care will only help you create brightness in your life.
4 Ways to protect your eyes
There are different ways to protect your eyes. The four best ways to take good eye care are
• You need to visit your eye doctor regularly. It would advisable to consult an ophthalmologist if you experience eye aging, eye swelling, and irritation in the eyes, color blindness or any other eye related problems.
• It’s very important that you follow different disease prevention techniques. There are different eye diseases that can lead to permanent loss of eyesight. Few of such diseases are Glaucoma, cataracts, macular degeneration and diabetes. Most of these diseases are incurable. However you can still prevent them if you take regular and timely care.
• Avoid exposing your eyes to the harmful ultra violet rays of the sun. Protect your eyes from the sun’s rays as much as you can.
• One of the best ways to protect your eyes from different problems is by wearing safety glasses. You need to wear suitable glasses especially if you are working with hazardous and harmful air-borne materials.