Latest California Healthline Stories
Questions About FDA Withholding Antidepressants Report Examined
The Los Angeles Times on Tuesday examined an FDA decision to allegedly “squelch plans” to present to an advisory committee findings of a study linking antidepressants to suicide in children.
Few Hospitals Installing Computerized Order Entry Systems
The New York Times on Tuesday examined many physicians’ resistance to adopt computer technology as recommended by a 1999 Institute of Medicine report that called for eliminating “most handwritten clinical data by the end of the decade” in order to reduce patient deaths caused by personnel errors.
Catholic Healthcare West Expands Discount to Uninsured Patients by Raising Income Requirements
San Francisco-based Catholic Healthcare West announced Friday that it has expanded its financial assistance program to provide discounts to patients with higher annual incomes than previously allowed, the San Francisco Chronicle reports.
Monitored Care Decreases Gap in Depression Treatment for Minorities
Increasing patient education and monitoring can decrease the gap in treatment outcomes among whites and minorities with depression, according to a study published in the April issue of Archives of General Psychiatry, the Wall Street Journal reports.
Federal Court Upholds Michigan Prescription Drug Formulary
Michigan can continue a program that requires physicians to use a formulary when prescribing drugs to low-income patients in public health programs, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia ruled on Friday, the New York Times reports.
Drug Companies Tell Task Force That Reimportation of Prescription Drugs Is Unsafe
Reimporting prescription drugs from other nations would be “neither safe nor cost-effective,” pharmaceutical companies and distributors said on Monday at the second meeting of the Task Force on Drug Importation, the Los Angeles Times reports.
Insurance Commissioner Sues State’s Workers’ Compensation Fund
State Insurance Commissioner John Garamendi (D) on Monday filed a lawsuit against the State Compensation Insurance Fund in a state court in San Francisco, requesting that the not-for-profit insurer grant access to all records, documents and employees, the Los Angeles Times reports.
The state’s fetal homicide law, which allows prosecutors to charge someone with the death of a fetus when a pregnant woman is attacked or killed, applies even to cases in which the assailant is unaware of the woman’s pregnancy, the California Supreme Court ruled on Monday, Los Angeles Times reports.
Tenet Discloses Executives’ Salaries and Directors’ Departures
Santa Barbara-based Tenet Healthcare, the nation’s second-largest for-profit hospital chain, disclosed Monday in a Securities and Exchange Commission filing that former CEO Jeffrey Barbakow was paid $1.3 million as part of a severance package, the Wall Street Journal reports.
Los Angeles Times Examines Potential Conflicts of Interest for Doctors Bidding on Tenet Hospitals
The Los Angeles Times on Monday examined the potential impact of up to 15 doctors’ groups seeking to buy hospitals that Tenet Healthcare, the nation’s second-largest for-profit hospital chain, plans to sell this year.