Latest California Healthline Stories
Nurses at University Medical Center in Fresno To Stage 24-Hour Strike
The California Nurses Association on Friday announced that about 300 registered nurses at University Medical Center in Fresno would participate in a 24-hour walkout, beginning Nov. 23, after “stalled contract negotiations” concluded between the union and officials at Community Medical Centers, which owns UMC, the Fresno Bee reports.
FDA Issues Guidelines for Use of Radio Tracking Chips on Prescription Drugs
As expected, FDA on Monday announced that some pharmaceutical companies will begin placing radio frequency identification devices on the labels of medication bottles “to help thwart counterfeiters,” and the agency issued guidelines for use of such devices, USA Today reports.
Third Member Appointed to Oversight Committee for Proposition 71
Lt. Gov. Cruz Bustamante (D) on Monday at a press conference appointed Robert Birgeneau, chancellor of the University of California-Berkeley, as the third member of the Independent Citizen’s Oversight Committee, which will oversee the Institute for Regenerative Medicine created by Proposition 71, the Contra Costa Times reports.
Bush Proposal To Cap Medical Malpractice Damages Could Pass in 2005
Supporters of President Bush maintain that with an expanded Republican majority in the Senate, “there could be enough momentum to overcome Democratic-led resistance” to his medical liability reform proposal in 2005, the AP/Las Vegas Sun reports.
California Healthline Highlights Recent Coverage of Medical Marijuana Issues
The Los Angeles Times Magazine on Sunday examined a lawsuit filed against U.S. Attorney General John Ashcroft and Asa Hutchinson, former head of the Drug Enforcement Administration, by chronic pain sufferer Angel Raich, two growers who supply her with marijuana and Diane Monson, another medical marijuana user.
Loma Linda Veterans Hospital Seeks To Expand Facilities To Accommodate Influx of Patients
Faced with an increase in patient volume over the last 10 years, the Jerry L. Pettis Memorial Veterans Medical Center in Loma Linda is making plans to expand its facilities and convert doctors’ offices into additional bed space, the Riverside Press-Enterprise reports.
Senate Panel To Examine Insurance Industry Business Practices
The Senate Subcommittee on Financial Management, the Budget and International Security on Tuesday will conduct a hearing to examine potential conflicts of interest among insurance brokers, as well as the effectiveness of state regulation of the insurance industry, the Wall Street Journal reports.
Wall Street Journal Looks at Obstacles for ‘Near Elderly’ to Obtaining Insurance
The Wall Street Journal on Tuesday examined the “difficulty” for “near elderly” people — those between ages 50 and 64 — in obtaining health insurance through individual coverage plans “at the very time they are developing health problems that scare insurers.”
San Luis Obispo County Family Care Centers Meeting Patient Goals Three Months After Acquisition
Officials from Nipomo-based Community Health Centers of the Central Coast said that they are meeting initial goals for patient satisfaction and access to care at San Luis Obispo County’s six family-care clinics, over which CHC assumed management in June, the San Luis Obispo Tribune reports.
FDA Strengthens Warning on Mifepristone
FDA on Monday announced that it will revise the “black box” warning for Danco Laboratories’ Mifeprex, a drug taken to induce a medical abortion, in response to numerous reports of infection, bleeding and death among women who have taken the drug, the San Francisco Chronicle reports.