Latest California Healthline Stories
Sunnyvale-Based Yahoo! Launches Online Disease Management System for Diabetes Patients
Sunnyvale-based Internet portal Yahoo! and Carlsbad-based health care software company iMetrikus yesterday launched an online system on the Yahoo! Health Web site that will help people with diabetes track their blood sugar levels, the San Francisco Chronicle reports.
Combination Hormone Replacement Therapy Increases Women’s Risk of Heart Attack, Study Finds
Hormone replacement therapy increases a woman’s risk of having a heart attack, according to an analysis of data from the Women’s Health Initiative published today in the New England Journal of Medicine, the New York Times reports.
California Healthline Rounds Up Recent Coverage of Racial Privacy Initiative
California Healthline today rounds up recent coverage of Proposition 54, also known as the Racial Privacy Initiative, a ballot measure that would prevent California government agencies and schools from collecting racial and ethnic data.
Officials at Santa Barbara-based Tenet Healthcare, the second-largest for-profit hospital chain in the nation, yesterday agreed to pay $54 million to settle allegations that two physicians at Tenet-owned Redding Medical Center performed unnecessary heart surgeries, the Los Angeles Times reports.
Medical Group Coalition Proposes Ballot Initiative To Fund Emergency Care Providers
A coalition of medical groups has “quietly” proposed a ballot initiative for the November 2004 election that would generate as much as $800 million annually to help fund emergency care providers, the San Diego Union-Tribune reports.
Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital, UCSF To Launch Pediatric Bariatric Surgery Programs
Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital and the University of California-San Francisco Medical Center are preparing to launch bariatric surgery programs to treat obesity in children, the San Jose Mercury News reports.
U.S. Agencies Lack Coordination in Addressing Animal-Borne Illnesses, Study Finds
The United States’ public health system lacks coordination among agencies and has not effectively addressed recent outbreaks of animal-borne illnesses, according to a report released yesterday by the Trust for America’s Health, the Orlando Sentinel reports.
Sonoma County Might Receive Higher Medicare Reimbursements, CMS Administrator Says
At a two-hour meeting Monday, CMS Administrator Tom Scully said that Sonoma County might receive higher Medicare reimbursements because of the county’s elevated housing and living costs, but added that the reimbursement increase could be several years away, the Santa Rosa Press Democrat reports.
USA Today Examines Role of Health Benefits in Contract Negotiations
USA Today examines the role of health benefits in the “closely scrutinized” contract negotiations between the United Auto Workers and the Big Three auto manufacturers — General Motors, Ford and Chrysler.
Democratic Presidential Candidates Discuss Health Care at AFL-CIO Forum
Democratic presidential candidates yesterday called for expanded health care coverage and “squabbled” over their health proposals at a forum sponsored by the AFL-CIO in Chicago, the New York Times reports.