01/05/2009
On Jan. 1, the state Department of Managed Health Care implemented new regulations that require health and dental plans to provide translators to members who have limited English language skills. The rules have been in the works for five years. Sacramento Bee.
01/05/2009
Emergency medical experts are voicing concerns that 911 ambulance personnel in San Francisco are not trained adequately and do not maintain patient charts that indicate what specific medical treatment they have provided. Meanwhile, emergency response times in the city have improved after San Francisco's 911 Call Center adopted new protocols. San Francisco Chronicle.
01/05/2009
State Sen. Elaine Alquist and Kathleen Billingsley, deputy director of the state Department of Public Health's Center for Health Care Quality, talked with California Healthline about two new laws aimed at curbing hospital-acquired infections.
12/19/2008
In a 4-3 ruling, the California Supreme Court ruled that a woman could be held liable for allegedly exacerbating a coworker's injuries when she removed her from an overturned car. The ruling distinguishes between medical care and emergency response in terms of liability protections. Los Angeles Times.
12/19/2008
A new report from the California Workers' Compensation Institute found that physician networks are providing a growing share of medical care for California workers who are injured on the job. Sacramento Business Journal.
12/19/2008
On Thursday, KQED's "California Report" examined the potentially harmful chemicals in holiday gifts. California and the federal government have passed new laws banning certain chemicals, but the laws do not go into effect until next year. KQED's "California Report."
12/15/2008
In a study published in the online medical journal PLoS Medicine, UCSF medical researchers accuse major drug companies of skewing the results of prescription drug trials. The researchers argue that doctors are prescribing drugs based on inadequate information. San Francisco Chronicle.
12/09/2008
Some medical professionals believe that too much drug safety information could overwhelm patients and raise undue concern. A Pfizer survey of 300 medical professionals found that 89% of respondents were at least somewhat concerned that patients might stop taking medications if potentially negative drug safety information was released too early to the public. Wall Street Journal.
12/09/2008
On Monday, the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals heard arguments in the case between the state and California prison health care receiver J. Clark Kelso over a plan to spend $8 billion to build seven new health care facilities for prison inmates. California Attorney General Jerry Brown argued that a San Francisco federal judge violated the federal Prison Litigation Reform Act of 1996 and the U.S. Constitution's guarantee of state sovereignty when he ordered the governor and controller to provide a $250 million down payment for the project or risk being held in contempt. Sacramento Bee.
12/09/2008
On Monday, House Energy and Commerce Chair Henry Waxman renewed his call to give FDA the ability to ban advertisements for certain drugs when they first reach the market and risks are not fully known. A similar effort in 2007 failed after some lawmakers argued that it would violate constitutional protections of free speech. Reuters.
12/08/2008
Uninsured Californians and Medi-Cal beneficiaries are more likely to die in California hospitals than patients with private insurance, according to a new state report. The California Hospital Association traces the disparity to limited access to primary care services. by George Lauer
12/05/2008
The number of hospital stays for work-related injuries in the state decreased significantly between 2002 and 2006, according to a report from the California Workers' Compensation Institute. The report attributed the decrease to fewer workers' compensation claims overall and reforms to the workers' compensation system. Sacramento Business Journal.
12/05/2008
Traumatic brain injuries can be associated with long-term health problems, such as seizures and Alzheimer's disease, according to an Institute of Medicine report released Thursday. A recent Rand report estimated that 300,000, or 19%, of troops returning from Iraq and Afghanistan suffered from traumatic brain injuries. Los Angeles Times, New York Times.
12/04/2008
At a trial focused on overcrowding in California prisons on Tuesday, a federal judge said that releasing inmates early might be the best option to ensure adequate medical care in state prisons. The three-judge panel is expected to rule this week on whether overcrowding is the main cause of poor medical and mental health care in California prisons. AP/Oakland Tribune.
12/04/2008
An internal Los Angeles County assessment concluded that a woman who died on the waiting room floor of Martin Luther King Jr.-Harbor Medical Center could have been saved if she had been treated properly. The sealed report was inadvertently made public for a brief time when county lawyers mistakenly included it in a recent court filing. Los Angeles Times.