Latest California Healthline Stories
New York Times Examines Disputes Over Expert Testimony in Medical Malpractice Lawsuits
The New York Times on Sunday looked at a question that is emerging in medical malpractice disputes: “Should medical groups have the power to discipline doctors for their expert testimony?”
African-Americans More Likely Than Whites To Receive Inadequate Nursing Home Care, Study Finds
African-American seniors are four times more likely than white seniors to live in “understaffed and poorly funded nursing homes that offer substandard care,” according to a study funded by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and published in the Milbank Quarterly, the Washington Post reports.
‘Chemo Brain’ in Cancer Patients Likely Linked to Disease, Not Treatment, in Some Cases, Study Finds
“Chemo brain,” the memory and other cognitive problems experienced by some cancer patients who receive chemotherapy, may result from the disease rather than the treatment, according to a study published Monday in the online edition of the journal Cancer, the Wall Street Journal reports.
Merck Supports National Database of Clinical Trials
Drug maker Merck supports the creation of a government-run clinical trial database, indicating the “first major sign of pharmaceutical industry support” for such an inclusive database, the New York Times reports.
Internal Documents Show FDA Conflict on OTC Status Rejection of Plan B
FDA scientists “dismissed” the agency’s reasoning for its rejection of over-the-counter status for the emergency contraceptive Plan B, according to internal agency documents, the Washington Post reports.
At the beginning of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors’ hearings on Mayor Gavin Newsom’s (D) proposed fiscal year 2004-2005 budget Monday, Supervisor Chris Daly proposed taking $5 million from the city’s reserve fund to restore proposed reductions to public health services, the San Francisco Chronicle reports.
Court of Appeals Upholds Berkeley Law Requiring a Minimum Wage, Health Benefits for Some Workers
A three-judge panel of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco on Wednesday ruled 2-1 that Berkeley can require higher minimum wages and employee benefits, including health coverage for some workers, the Los Angeles Times reports.
The goal of 13 federal lawsuits filed Wednesday against not-for-profit hospitals in eight states is to “require these hospitals to honor the pledge of charity care that got them tax exemption[s] in the first place,” Richard Scruggs, one of the lawyers involved in the lawsuits, said in a conference call Thursday, Bloomberg/South Florida Sun-Sentinel reports.
San Diego County Provides $6 Million To Nursing Home Construction Project
The San Diego County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday voted unanimously to provide $6 million to help rebuild Santee-based Edgemoor Hospital, a county-run nursing home for low-income and chronically ill patients, the San Diego Union-Tribune reports.
High School Smoking Rate Lowest in Decades, Report Says
Increased cigarette taxes and anti-smoking campaigns have contributed to the lowest rate of high school students who smoke since CDC began measuring teen smoking in 1975, according to a report released Thursday by the agency, the AP/Contra Costa Times reports.