Prescription drug abuse is rising at alarming rates. To combat the problem, prescription monitoring programs are becoming more sophisticated, aiming to put the brakes on abusers and, in some cases, incorporate rehabilitation programs. Scientist Peter Kreiner explains how the programs work and what they hope to accomplish.

Professor Laurence Simon's career in world development spans 40 years and has taken him from hands-on antipoverty work in Sri Lanka to the halls of power and influence. Friends and colleagues recently lauded Simon’s dedication over the decades, including many who thanked Simon for his selfless mentoring.

"What [my] book intends to do is to trace the history of U.S. attempts to create universal coverage, going back to Teddy Roosevelt."

"What the country needs is a revolution in how we structure disability policy."

"Elders need help with both their everyday living and their health care, but the two systems are very separate."

"With more people covered by health insurance, it is imperative to measure the quality of care people receive, to create incentives for providing good care, and to implement programs focused on quality improvement."

"I don't believe that you can have equality without first securing that place where you can live out your dreams and all the opportunities the country has to offer."

"Even when African-Americans do everything right -- get an education and work hard at well-paying jobs -- they cannot achieve the wealth of their white peers in the workforce, and that translates into very different life chances."

"Health plan decisions can dramatically affect the lives of people with substance abuse and mental health conditions."

"I fell in love with the Tsimane because they are sweet and peaceful. When you live in a small-scale society that practices cross-cousin marriage, the society ends up being a huge extended family and you have to learn how to manage your anger and get along."

"Heller's collaborative, supportive environment in a cross-disciplinary context and the non-competitive atmosphere contributed to my and other students' learning."

"At Heller, there are so many people in so many fields, there are always faculty to help examine payments, financing, economics of health care and there is enough support to digest the material."

"At Heller I've found a community where the professors are supportive and helpful and students contribute to each other’s success."

"The Heller faculty’s rich policy expertise and experience on both the federal and state levels is really unparalleled."

"Before coming to Heller, I had long policy discussions with Heller Institute and Center Directors. These are the people who write the articles I read on topics that interest me."

"Just seeing how involved Heller faculty were with health care reform and how that Massachusetts law went on to be a model for the nation took my breath away."

"I'm getting excellent training in being a researcher - I know where to go, whom to ask, and I'm equipped to do my own study."

"The Heller faculty really value students, while also producing really interesting work on their own."

"The professors and career advisors motivate me, and their questions lead me to valuable answers."

"I've come to think of all of my classmates as my teachers."

"Preparation for a career in nonprofit management is what I came for and what the program delivers."

"The Heller community is passionate and knowledgeable, bringing their varied experiences and backgrounds with them."

"My fellow classmates do a good job of keeping the big picture in mind."

"I believe that to create change, you must start small, but I don't set limits on what is possible."

"It wasn't until I started living and working among internally displaced person camps that I began to hear and understand what these people needed."

"If it were only possible, I would reach out to all 20,000 children growing up in this community."

"People with disabilities in Taiwan have lower education levels, lower income status and lower participation rates in various social activities, with less than sufficient transportation support to assist them in getting to school, the hospital and social events."

"This is an opportune time for me to be doing this building of government capacity. I hope to continue providing this much-needed help to develop systems for this new nation."

"The scale of what needs to be done is huge. There has been a lot of finger pointing about whose responsibility it is, but it's not realistic to expect either government or the private sector alone to solve the problem."

"When folks are not employed, crime rates go up, the cost of food stamps goes up, drug use goes up, the number of small children without support goes up."

"Our business model is aligned with our mission."

"It's clear there's no one solution. It's a global problem."

"Employers are not looking at potential anymore. By the time you finish college, you already should have accomplished something."

"Social enterprises are at the forefront of a global entrepreneurial trend."

"I learned the importance of being politically active and how to influence policy -- but to do this I had to understand the economics at play behind the scenes and how it impacted patient care."

"I found my home at the Heller School. The atmosphere was intellectually exciting, the faculty was on a first-name basis with students, and it was the kind of place where you got what you put into the experience. I loved every minute of it."

Implementing health care reform will be an "enormous burden" on the individual states, especially given the current economic climate.

Health systems in Central and Eastern Europe face a number of thorny challenges that the United States is confronting, including the graying of their population and rapidly increasing healthcare costs.