The conference will examine the past, present and future of Medicare, with keynote addresses from Peter Orszag, PhD, the Director of the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) and Mark B. McClellan, MD, PhD, a former Administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid and a former Commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration. The conference will be web cast live at www.utexas.edu/lbj/webcasts, on the day of the event.

HHS' Office on Disability and Cleveland Clinic's Center for Neurological Restoration will hold a one-day conference on May 6 to focus on the impact DBS, or brain pacemakers, has on patients' quality of life, level of functioning and return to work. Topics will also include improving access to care, encouraging medical innovation and research and examining ethical considerations.

This event will be videocast.
Barnett Kramer, M.D., M.P.H., associate director for disease prevention, NIH, will address "Cancer Screening: The Intuition Versus the Science." Kramer has extensive experience in cancer treatment studies, primary prevention studies, as well as clinical screening trials of lung, ovarian, breast and prostate cancers. He is medical officer for two large cancer screening trials sponsored by the National Cancer Institute: the Prostate, Lung, Colorectal, Ovarian (PLCO) Trial; and the National Lung Screening Trial (NLST).

The webcast will take a closer look at state-based efforts to improve access to care and outcomes for minority populations, including the work of states such as Massachusetts, Georgia and Ohio. The panelists will also touch on how these initiatives fit into a state's larger health reform efforts, and the role of the federal government.

This online meeting, co-hosted by The Commonwealth Fund's Quality of Care for Frail Elders program and the Pioneer Network, will present the findings of The Commonwealth Fund 2007 Survey of Nursing Homes, and assess ongoing efforts to spread resident-centered care or "culture change" within the nursing home industry.

This symposium, which will be videocast, will present advances in pain research and pain management, featuring work done through NIH support. Topics will include Moving Basic Discoveries to the Clinic and Clinical Findings to the Laboratory. A poster session will include a broad selection of current pain research findings presented by junior investigators. Members of the extramural scientific community, the NIH scientific community, health care providers, and the public are invited to attend.

HHS Secretary Mike Leavitt, Commissioner of Food and Drugs Andrew C. von Eschenbach, M.D., and CMS Acting Administrator Kerry Weems will announce the details of a major new initiative to improve drug and medical device safety.

Veterans Affairs, in collaboration with Veterans Service Organizations (VSOs) and other partners, is hosting this event as part of National VA Research Week. Presentations will include information about research on schizophrenia, diabetes, brain-computer interface, women's issues and more.