Latest California Healthline Stories
Pharmaceutical Companies Issue Internal Notices About Michael Moore Film on Health Care Industry
At least six drug manufacturers have issued internal alerts about filmmaker Michael Moore’s plans to create a film about FDA, health insurers and drug manufacturers, the Los Angeles Times reports.
California ethnic groups that have lived in the United States the longest have the highest overall rate of cancer, according to a study recently released by the Norris Comprehensive Cancer Center at the University of Southern California, the AP/Desert Sun reports.
FDA Says Naproxen, Sold Over-the-Counter as Aleve, Might Increase Risk for Heart Attack, Stroke
The pain medication naproxen might increase patient risk for heart attack and stroke based on the preliminary results of a National Institute on Aging study that found a 50% higher risk among participants who took naproxen compared with those who took a placebo, FDA said on Monday, the Los Angeles Times reports.
Kaiser Permanente Announces Plans To Build Hospital, Doctor Office Center in Vacaville
Kaiser Permanente officials on Thursday announced plans to open a 166-bed hospital in Vacaville by 2009, the Sacramento Bee reports.
San Francisco Mayor Announces Proposition 63 Task Force
San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom (D) on Monday announced the formation of a task force to monitor the receipt of about $50 million a year in funding through Proposition 63, the San Francisco Chronicle reports.
Grocery Stores, Union Members in Northern California Agree to Contract
Grocery store chains Safeway, Albertsons and Kroger on Sunday reached a labor agreement with 19,000 workers in Northern California after 10 months of negotiations and shortly before a union deadline for a strike vote, the AP/Modesto Bee reports.
Pfizer’s Decision To Continue To Sell Celebrex Could Pose Risk for Company
Pfizer’s decision to continue selling the arthritis medication Celebrex — which, based on the results of a national study announced on Friday, can triple patient risk for cardiovascular events compared with a placebo — “puts the company on a risky legal path” that could “backfire” in the event FDA removes the medication from the market, the Wall Street Journal reports.
Health Care Inequities Caused 866,000 Deaths Among African Americans, Study Finds
Failure to deliver equal care to African Americans compared with whites resulted in an additional 886,000 U.S. deaths among African Americans between 1991 and 2000, according to a report in the December issue of the American Journal of Public Health, the Washington Post reports.
Assembly Members To Introduce Assisted-Suicide Bill Similar To Oregon Law
Assembly members Patty Berg (D-Santa Rosa) and Lloyd Levine (D-Van Nuys) will hold two public hearings on physician-assisted suicide in early 2005 and introduce legislation that could make California the second state to legalize the practice, the San Jose Mercury News reports.
Physicians Criticize DEA Revision of Pain Medication Guidelines
The presidents of the American Pain Society, the American Academy of Pain Medicine and the American Society of Addiction Medicine sent the Drug Enforcement Administration an “unusual” joint letter criticizing recent revisions to guidelines for prescribing pain medications, the Washington Post reports.