Latest California Healthline Stories
More Insurers Covering E-Mail Consultations With Physicians, New York Times Reports
Many insurance companies in an attempt to improve efficiency and reduce costs are beginning to cover e-mail consultations between physicians and patients, just as they do for office visits, the New York Times reports.
National Governors Association Meeting Ends Without Deal on Medicaid Reform
The National Governors Association on Tuesday ended its annual winter meeting in Washington, D.C., without an agreement among governors and the Bush administration on Medicaid, the New York Times reports.
More Than Two-Thirds of State Residents Support Physician-Assisted Suicide, Poll Finds
About 70% of California residents support the idea that “incurably ill patients have the right to ask for and get life-ending medication,” according to a Field Poll released Wednesday, the AP/Fresno Bee reports.
FDA Official Calls for More Authority Over Prescription Drug Labels
FDA should have the authority to require revisions to the language on prescription drug labels and studies to test the safety of medications currently on the market, a top agency official said on Tuesday at a Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions hearing, the New York Times reports.
Reasons for Delay in Medicare Reform Efforts Examined
The AP/Las Vegas Sun on Monday examined how the “political and technical complexities” of the financial problems that Medicare faces have prompted President Bush and some lawmakers to address Social Security reform first, although the “looming Medicare shortage” is “seven times the size of the one that Social Security faces.”
Officials To Consider Establishing Four-Year Nursing Program in Ventura County
California State University-Channel Islands this year will conduct a study to examine the feasibility of establishing a four-year nursing program at the Camarillo campus, CSUCI President Richard Rush said, the Ventura County Star reports.
Los Angeles Times Examines Debate Over Role of Spirituality in Medicine
The Los Angeles Times on Monday examined the debate in the medical community over the role of spirituality in medicine. According to the Times, the “core of the debate” involves “physicians’ authority and the ethics of endorsing patient beliefs when they conflict with science.”
CDC Releases Guidelines To Help States Track, Report Infections in Hospitals, Health Clinics
CDC on Monday released guidelines to help states track and publicly report potentially life-threatening infections in hospitals and health clinics, Reuters/Yahoo! News reports.
California Healthline Examines Several Recent Developments Related to New Medicare Law
California Healthline highlights several recent developments related to the new Medicare law.
State Preparedness for Bioterrorist Attack Improved, DHS Director Tells Legislative Panel
The Department of Health Services’ bioterrorism preparedness efforts are “improving rapidly,” following a series of reports released in the past eight months that were “critical of the state’s ability to respond to public health emergencies,” DHS Director Sandra Shewry said Monday at a legislative hearing, the Sacramento Bee reports.