Latest California Healthline Stories
Doctors Criticize Voluntary Guidelines Designed To Restrict Some Drug Companies’ Marketing Practices
Although the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America established voluntary guidelines earlier this year to restrict many of the sales practices that drug companies use to target physicians, some doctors have said that “little has changed,” the Newark Star-Ledger reports.
ER Overcrowding Caused in Part by Surgeons’ Scheduling Autonomy
Emergency room overcrowding is partially caused by surgeons’ “traditional freedom” to set their own operating schedules without taking hospital capacity into consideration, according to new findings, the Boston Globe reports.
Current Issue of Health Affairs Looks at Provider Shortages
A critical shortage of nurses, doctors and pharmacists could “undermine patient care” just as members of the baby boom generation begin to require health services the most, according to studies released today in the journal Health Affairs, the Boston Herald reports.
Community Health Center Reauthorization Bill Held Up over Abortion Language
House Majority Leader Dick Armey (R-Texas) is refusing to schedule a vote on a bill (HR 3450) that would renew authority for community health centers until Congress votes on a bill (HR 4691) that would allow federal funds to go to hospitals and insurance plans that refuse to offer or cover abortion procedures, Reuters Health reports.
San Ramon Regional Medical Center Nurses To Vote on Joining Union
Nurses at San Ramon Regional Medical Center will vote in October whether to join the California Nurses Association, the Contra Costa Times reports.
Compromise Sought on Medicare Prescription Drug Benefit, May Be Attached to ‘Giveback’ Bill
Senators hoping to pass a Medicare prescription drug benefit before the end of the session are considering attaching the measure to a bill reversing Medicare reimbursement cuts that the Senate Finance Committee is set to mark up, CongressDaily/AM reports.
CNA Petitions for Cedars-Sinai Medical Center Nurses To Join Union
The California Nurses Association yesterday filed a petition with the National Labor Relations Board to unionize nurses at Los Angeles’ Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, Los Angeles Times reports.
As “traditional barriers like cost and complexity” have decreased, more small physician offices have implemented information technology systems, according to a new report released by the California HealthCare Foundation and First Consulting Group.
Georgia-Pacific, Verizon Leave Business for Affordable Medicine Coalition
The paper company Georgia-Pacific and Verizon Communications have left or reduced their roles in Business for Affordable Medicine — a “powerful coalition” lobbying for easier access to generic drugs — after brand-name drug makers threatened to end contracts with the companies, a coalition spokesperson said.
Fewer Foreign Doctors Seek U.S. Graduate Programs Since Implementation of New Test
The number of international medical school graduates who seek certification for U.S. graduate medical education programs has “plummeted” since the institution of a clinical skills assessment (CSA) test, according to a study in today’s issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association.