Latest California Healthline Stories
President Bush Promotes Health Savings Accounts, Electronic Health Records in Ohio Speech
President Bush on Thursday in Ohio discussed health savings accounts and announced that he would call for $125 million in his fiscal year 2006 budget proposal to promote health care information technology and the “widespread computerization of patients’ health records over the next decade,” the New York Times reports.
Attorneys for Alvarado, Tenet Ask Federal Judge To Dismiss Kickback Case
Attorneys for an Alvarado Hospital Medical Center administrator and Tenet HealthSystem Hospitals, a Tenet Healthcare subsidiary, on Wednesday rested their case and filed a motion to dismiss charges in a federal criminal trial that alleges two former Alvarado administrators illegally negotiated about $10 million in physician-relocation agreements with physician groups to increase patient referrals and revenue, the San Diego Union-Tribune reports.
HHS Office of Inspector General Investigates NIH Researcher Over Allegations of Conflict of Interest
The investigations unit of the HHS Office of Inspector General is looking into whether P. Trey Sunderland, an NIH researcher working in the field of Alzheimer’s disease, violated federal conflict-of-interest law, the Los Angeles Times reports.
Ventura County Launches Program To Improve Access to Care For Low-Income Elderly Residents
Ventura County this month launched the Preventive Health Care for the Aging program, which helps high-risk, low-income individuals ages 55 and over get better health care through education and improved communication between patients and health care providers, the Ventura County Star reports.
A decision by National Labor Relations Board General Counsel Arthur Rosenfeld could require the Los Angeles Hotel Employer’s Council to reimburse hundreds of thousands of dollars that employees represented by Unite Here Local 11 have paid for health coverage since the hotels declared in July 2004 that contract negotiations were at an impasse, according to an NLRB official who spoke to the Los Angeles Times on condition of anonymity.
Bill Introduced To Restrict Sales of Products With Methamphetamine Ingredient
A bipartisan group of senators led by Sens. Jim Talent (R-Mo.) and Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) on Wednesday introduced a bill that would restrict the sale of products that contain pseudoephedrine, the active ingredient in methamphetamine, the Kansas City Star reports.
San Jose City Council Approves $145 Million Proposed Expansion of Regional Medical Center
The San Jose City Council on Tuesday unanimously approved the first and second phases of a proposed $145 million expansion of Regional Medical Center, a community hospital in East San Jose owned by Tennessee-based HCA, the San Jose Mercury News reports.
Effects of Psychiatric Emergency Department Closure on Riverside County Hospitals Examined
Closing Riverside County’s Indio-based psychiatric emergency department last year has contributed to an increase in the number of patients with psychiatric conditions at the three other EDs in the area, the Riverside Press-Enterprise reports.
The medical staff at Western Medical Center-Santa Ana have ended their opposition to a deal for Costa Mesa-based Integrated Healthcare Holdings to purchase four Orange County Hospitals from Tenet Healthcare for $70 million, the Orange County Register reports.
Bay Area Grocery Store Chains, Union Reach Tentative Contract Agreement
Safeway, Albertsons and Kroger and the United Food and Commercial Workers on Monday announced a tentative labor agreement, under which the grocery store chains would continue to pay all health premiums for covered workers, the San Jose Mercury News reports.