California Hospital News Roundup for the Week of May 1, 2015
Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, Los Angeles
Cedars-Sinai Medical Center is offering all of its patients access to health data sharing capabilities via Apple's HealthKit platform, MobiHealthNews reports.
Individuals who use the hospital's patient portal now will be able to select certain health data recorded on their smartphones -- such as weight, blood pressure and glucose levels -- and have the data uploaded to the hospital's electronic health record system (Comstock, MobiHealthNews, 4/28).
Gardens Regional Hospital & Medical Center, Hawaiian Gardens
On Tuesday, Los Angeles City Attorney Mike Feuer filed a lawsuit against Gardens Regional Hospital & Medical Center, alleging that the hospital participated in patient dumping practices, the Los Angeles Times reports.
Specifically, the suit alleges that the hospital repeatedly dumped patients in Los Angeles without adequate treatment or discharge plans (Holland, Los Angeles Times, 4/28).
Pomona Valley Hospital Medical Center
The Los Angeles County Department of Health Services has recommended designating Pomona Valley Hospital Medical Center as a new county trauma center, the Los Angeles Times' "L.A. Now" reports.
The plan requires approval from the county board of supervisors and review and certification from the American College of Surgeons. The process could take more than a year to complete (Karlamangla, "L.A. Now," Los Angeles Times, 4/26).
Seton Medical Center, Daly City
The California Department of Public Health has levied a $100,000 fine against Seton Medical Center's skilled nursing facility for a November 2014 incident in which a patient died, Payers & Providers reports. The fine was the largest DPH could have levied against the facility.
The medical center has agreed to implement new safeguards, such as additional staff training (Payers & Providers, 4/30).
This is part of the California Healthline Daily Edition, a summary of health policy coverage from major news organizations. Sign up for an email subscription.