Latest California Healthline Stories
Nurses at 13 Prisons Statewide Call in Sick in Apparent Protest of Stalled Contract Negotiations
Nurses on Tuesday called in sick at “inordinately high rates” at 13 prisons across California as part of an apparent protest over stalled negotiations on a new contract with the state, the Sacramento Bee reports.
Nebraska Judge Strikes Down Federal Ban on So-Called ‘Partial-Birth’ Abortion
U.S. District Judge Richard Kopf in Lincoln, Neb., on Wednesday became the third judge to strike down a federal ban on so-called “partial-birth” abortion because the law does not include an exception to protect a pregnant woman’s health, the Omaha World-Herald reports.
Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist (R-Tenn.) on Wednesday said that he likely will not hold a vote on legislation to allow the reimport of lower-cost prescription drugs from Canada before the November election because of a lack of time and concerns about the safety of the practice, the AP/Detroit Free Press reports.
Air Pollution Might Affect Lung Development in Children, Study Finds
Children who live in areas with heavy air pollution have reduced lung capacity by age 18 and a higher risk for illness and other respiratory problems later in life, according to a study published on Thursday in the New England Journal of Medicine, the AP/San Jose Mercury News reports.
The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday voted to grant preliminary approval for an ordinance that would require bathhouses and sex clubs to obtain health permits to operate, the Los Angeles Times reports.
Study Assesses Care for Pneumonia at California Hospitals
Between 1999 and 2001, more than 200,000 California adults were admitted to 406 hospitals statewide for treatment of pneumonia, and 12.2% of those died within 30 days of admission, according to a report released Monday by the Office of Statewide Health Planning and Development, the Contra Costa Times reports.
Kerry Criticizes Bush Health Care Policies in Campaign Speech
In a campaign appearance Wednesday in Rochester, Minn., Democratic presidential nominee Sen. John Kerry (Mass.) said his first act as president would be to offer health coverage to all children and to give all U.S. residents the option of buying into the Federal Employee Health Benefits Program, the Minneapolis Star Tribune reports.
New York Times Examines California Workers’ Compensation Insurance System
The New York Times on Thursday examined the state of California’s workers’ compensation insurance system, which some experts say is “unique” and others say is a “harbinger of a nationwide crisis.”
Twelve Medical Journal Editors Announce Plans To Publish Only Registered Trials
A group of 12 editors from “prestigious medical journals” on Wednesday announced that they will refuse to publish research from drug companies’ clinical trials unless the studies are listed with a national registry accessible to the public at no charge — “a step designed to ferret out unpublished studies that find medications to be ineffective or dangerous,” the Washington Post reports.
As a House Energy and Commerce subcommittee prepares to hold a hearing Thursday on antidepressants and disclosure issues, the Wall Street Journal on Wednesday examined FDA’s actions in regard to warnings that Wyeth’s Effexor may be linked to suicidal thoughts in children who take the antidepressant.