Scientific American Magazine: Turning a Blind Eye

January 17, 2008, 12:00 pm by Scientific American: Health

In revamping Medicare, one of the first preventive practices President George W. Bush put under the national health care policy was glaucoma testing, beginning in 2002. After all, screening people at high risk of developing the chronic eye disease had been common practice for decades. Then, in 2005, a government-sponsored panel of experts found that it could not make any definitive recommendation about glaucoma screening. The surprising conclusion sparked a debate over the risks and benefits of screening for the disorder. Now new evidence, some researchers and policymakers say, tips the balance in favor of the benefits.

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