Despite many hospitals' reluctance to make the investment, installing an electronic medical records system pays for itself in less than two years, a new study finds.

Such a system was put in place at the University of Rochester Medical Center, N.Y., and recouped its initial cost within 16 months, say the authors of a study in the July issue of the Journal of the American College of Surgeons.

That experience runs counter to the worries of many health care providers, who are often reluctant to invest in such tracking systems.

"Health care providers most frequently cite cost as a primary obstacle to adopting an electronic medical records system. And, until this point, evidence supporting a positive return on investment for electronic health records technologies has been largely anecdotal," study co-author Dr. David A. Krusch, of the department of surgery at the University of Rochester, said in a prepared statement.

He and his colleagues analyzed the return on investment of an electronic health records system used in five ambulatory offices representing 28 health care providers. The study compared the costs of a number of tasks -- such as pulling patient charts, creating new charts, filing time, support staff salary, and data transcription -- in the third quarter of 2005 (after the system was installed) to costs in the third quarter of 2003, when the tasks were still being done manually.

The new system reduced costs by almost $394,000 per year, the study found, and nearly two-thirds of those savings came from a drastic reduction in the amount of time required to manually pull patient charts. The electronic medical records system cost $484,577 to install and operate in the first year, which means the medical center recouped its investment within 16 months.

After the first year, it cost about $114,000 a year to operate the system. That means an annual savings of more than $279,500 for the medical center, which works out to close to $10,000 per health care provider using the system, the researchers said.

Placenta previa occurs when, during pregnancy, the placenta drops lower in the uterus and covers the opening to the cervix. The placenta may also separate from the uterine wall as the cervix begins to dilate.

Placenta previa affects about one in 200 pregnant women in the third trimester, the American Pregnancy Association says.

The association lists these common risk factors for placenta previa:

* Having had one or more previous deliveries.
* Having had a previous Caesarean section.
* Having had a multiple birth (twins or triplets).
* Having had prior surgery on the uterus.

Meningitis is an inflammation of the lining around the brain and spinal cord. The illness is usually caused either by bacteria or a virus.

While some people who recover from meningitis don't have any aftereffects, others have residual effects long after the main illness subsides.

Here is a list of common after effects of meningitis, courtesy of the Meningitis Research Foundation:

* Memory loss, difficulty concentrating, and problems retaining information.
* Clumsiness and other problems with coordination.
* Frequent headaches.
* Deafness, ringing in the ears, hearing problems, or speech difficulties.
* Dizziness or loss of balance.
* Impaired vision.
* Learning difficulties.
* Epilepsy.
* Weakened or paralyzed parts of the body.

Dust mites are tiny bugs that live in bed linens, carpets, pillows and other warm areas where dust may gather. The waste from dust mites can cause allergy and asthma symptoms to flare.

To help rid your home of dust mites, the American Academy of Family Physicians offers these suggestions:

* Cover your mattress and pillows with an airtight cover made of plastic or polyurethane.
* Wash sheets and pillows each week in very hot water.
* If possible, bedroom floors should be hardwood or linoleum, rather than carpet.
* Vacuum carpets and furniture every week.
* Spray carpets with a 3 percent tannic acid spray every two months. But this solution, itself, can cause problems in allergic or asthmatic people, so check with your doctor first.
* Use a dehumidifier, and keep your air conditioning running when possible.
* Use special filters to trap dust mites in your air conditioner and vacuum.

Down syndrome is a genetic birth defect that's usually caused by an extra copy of the 21st chromosome.

It's the single most common cause of human birth defects, affecting about one in 660 births, the U.S. National Library of Medicine says.

The NLM lists these common signs of Down syndrome:

* Lack of muscle tone present at birth.
* A separation of joints between the bones of the skull, or an abnormally shaped skull.
* Eyes that slant upward.
* Small mouth with a protruding tongue.
* Wide, short hands.
* Only a single crease in the palm of the hand.
* Abnormal physical development, mental retardation.
* An abnormality in the iris of the eye.