Latest California Healthline Stories
Endorsements Could Affect Vote on Drug Discount Measures
The San Francisco Chronicle on Thursday examined the effects that endorsements of Propositions 78 and 79 have on voters’ opinions of the measures.
California GOP Hires Campaign Strategist To Build Support for Parental Notification Measure
The California Republican Party has hired Gary Marx, a campaign strategist who worked on President Bush’s re-election campaign, to help increase support among Christian voters for Proposition 73, the Los Angeles Times reports.
House Democrats Criticize Multiple Roles of Acting FDA Commissioner in Letter to HHS Secretary
Reps. Henry Waxman (D-Calif.), John Dingell (D-Mich.) and Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio) of the House Energy and Commerce Committee on Wednesday sent a letter to HHS Secretary Mike Leavitt saying that acting FDA Commissioner Andrew von Eschenbach’s position as director of the National Cancer Institute could create conflicts of interest, CQ HealthBeat reports.
FDA Decision on Application for Emergency Contraceptive Plan B Unusual, GAO Draft Report Finds
FDA’s 2004 rejection of Barr Pharmaceuticals’ application to allow nonprescription sales for the emergency contraceptive Plan B was an atypical decision made with uncharacteristic involvement from leading agency officials and might have been decided several months prior to its formal announcement, according to a draft report from the Government Accountability Office released Wednesday to some congressional staffers, the Washington Post reports.
Oversight of Medicare Medical Equipment Suppliers Inadequate, GAO Report Finds
Medical equipment suppliers that defraud Medicare or operate without a proper license and are suspended from the program “have little trouble regaining billing privileges so they can do it all over again,” according to a report released on Wednesday by the Government Accountability Office, the AP/Las Vegas Sun reports.
New NIH Program Will Provide Grants for Translational Research
NIH on Wednesday announced a new program that will provide grants to research institutions to improve “translational research,” a field in which basic discoveries are developed into practical medical treatments, the Washington Post reports.
Council Recommends Implementation of EHR System To Reduce Costs
The Technology CEO Council, a coalition of technology company officials founded in 1989, on Wednesday released a report that said health care quality “suffers” and costs have increased because the industry has not implemented an electronic health records system, USA Today reports.
Hospital Hires Experts To Investigate Liver Transplant Program
Officials at St. Vincent Medical Center in Los Angeles have hired outside experts to investigate whether the director and assistant director of its liver transplant program acted improperly in a 2003 case, the Los Angeles Times reports.
Lockyer, Institutions File Briefs Calling for Dismissal of Suits Blocking Proposition 71 Funds
Attorney General Bill Lockyer (D) on Wednesday filed a motion to dismiss court challenges that have kept the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine from issuing bonds to fund research grants through Proposition 71, a ballot measure to fund stem cell research that state voters approved in November 2004, the San Francisco Chronicle reports.
Parents Sue Schools To Seek Assistance for Diabetic Students
The American Diabetes Association and the parents of four diabetic students who attend state public schools filed a lawsuit on Tuesday alleging the schools violated the Americans with Disabilities Act, the Rehabilitation Act and other federal regulations by refusing to administer insulin and provide other assistance to help control the students’ diabetes, the Oakland Tribune reports.