Latest California Healthline Stories
Unclear Whether Internet Providers Met Deadline To Connect 911 Calls
It is not clear how many Internet phone providers met a Monday deadline for compliance with a new Federal Communications Commission rule that requires companies providing phone service through the Internet via Voice over Internet Protocol to ensure that callers can connect to local 911 dispatchers, the AP/San Jose Mercury News reports.
Judge Rules Proposition 71 Is Not Unconstitutional; Declines To Dismiss Lawsuits
An Alameda County Superior Court judge on Tuesday declined to rule Proposition 71 unconstitutional but did not dismiss two lawsuits that have prevented the issuance of state bonds to fund stem cell research, the Los Angeles Times reports.
The Department of Health Services on Tuesday issued guidelines discouraging doctors from prescribing Tamiflu to healthy patients who want to use it as a precaution in the event of an avian flu pandemic, the Orange County Register reports.
Los Angeles Supervisors Approve Changes to Discharge Policies for Homeless Patients
The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday voted 4-1 to approve a plan to modify county hospitals’ policies for discharging homeless patients to ensure access to needed services, the Los Angeles Times reports.
Error in Online Medicare Drug Benefit Tool Artificially Raising Some Prices
A “glitch” in the online Medicare Drug Plan Finder is “artificially inflating some annual cost estimates” for drug plans, CMS officials said on Tuesday, USA Today reports.
Los Angeles County DHS Director Resigns
Los Angeles County Department of Health Services Director Thomas Garthwaite on Tuesday announced his resignation in a closed-door meeting of the county Board of Supervisors, the Los Angeles Times reports.
Report Card Rates Children’s Wellbeing, Including Dental Care, Obesity
The nonpartisan, not-for-profit organization Children Now gave California “D” grades for childhood obesity, family economic security and education, according to the 2005 California Report Card to be released Wednesday, the Los Angeles Daily News reports.
PhRMA To ‘Pick Up’ Efforts To Create Drug Discount Program
The Pharmaceutical Researchers and Manufacturers of America in 2006 will “pick up” efforts to create a prescription drug discount program in California similar to the one Proposition 78 would have created, the Orange County Register reports.
California Healthline Highlights Medicare Drug Benefit News Coverage
California Healthline highlights recent articles related to Medicare.
Some Scientists Say Placebo Effect Proves To Be Physical
In a “new spin on the so-called placebo effect,” studies now show that when patients “expect” a benefit from medicine, it can have the same neurological effects as a real medication, and in some cases release chemicals from the brain that act as natural painkillers, the AP/Wall Street Journal reports.