Latest California Healthline Stories
Senate Approves Spending Bill With $2B for VA Health Care Programs
The Senate Appropriations Committee on Thursday voted 28-0 to approve an $83 billion fiscal year 2006 appropriations bill (HR 2528) for the Department of Veterans Affairs and military construction programs that would provide the Bush administration with the $2 billion requested to address a budget deficit for VA health care programs, CQ Today reports.
Fewer West Nile Cases Reported This Year
There have been fewer human cases of West Nile virus reported this year than at this time last year, according to data released Tuesday by the Department of Health Services, the Los Angeles Times reports.
Temporary Restraining Order Bars UC Nurses’ Strike
Sacramento Superior Court Judge Loren McMaster on Wednesday issued a temporary restraining order to stop a planned California Nurses Association strike at five University of California teaching hospitals, the Sacramento Bee reports.
DHS, Eldercare Advocates Outline Problems in Nursing Home System
Eldercare advocates and nursing home residents at a Wednesday hearing testified that the state’s nursing homes need increased staffing and a more effective complaint-resolution process, the San Jose Mercury News reports.
Medicare To Provide Electronic Health Records Software to Physicians at No Cost
Medicare in an “unprecedented move” is expected to announce plans to provide electronic health records software to doctors at no charge to help them computerize their medical practices, the New York Times reports.
Chiron Will Deliver No Doses of Flu Vaccine Manufactured in Germany Over Contamination Problems
Officials for California-based Chiron on Wednesday announced that testing of the company’s German manufacturing facility showed that bacterial contamination of the flu vaccine Begrivac is more widespread than previously believed, and as a result no doses will be delivered in the next flu season, the Wall Street Journal reports.
House Commerce Committee Approves Bill To Encourage Voluntary Reporting of Medical Errors
The House Energy and Commerce Committee on Wednesday approved by voice vote a compromise version of a bill (HR 3205) that would encourage voluntary reporting of medical errors, CQ Today reports.
Senate Committee Approves Compromise Bill To Expand Health Care Information Technology Use
The Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee on Wednesday approved by voice vote a measure (S 1418) intended to expand the use of information technology among health care providers, CongressDaily reports.
Quality of Care Has Improved at Many Hospitals Nationwide, Studies Find
U.S. hospitals that report on the quality of care they provide have improved on 15 of 18 quality indicators in recent years, but the “quality of care is inconsistent” nationwide, according to two studies published on Thursday in the New England Journal of Medicine, the Washington Post reports.
KQED’s “Health Dialogues” on Thursday will begin airing on public radio stations statewide a discussion about the number of state residents lacking health insurance, as well as the rising cost of health care in the state as uninsured residents seek primary care in emergency departments.