Latest California Healthline Stories
Public Citizen Opposes Surgeon General Nominee Carmona, Questioning Integrity and Management Style
As Senate confirmation hearings for the vacant surgeon general position begin today, the consumer advocacy group Public Citizen has raised concerns about the integrity of nominee Dr. Richard Carmona, USA Today reports.
Blue Shield of California Launches Health Plan for Migrant Workers, Dependents
Blue Shield of California yesterday launched a health plan for Mexican migrant workers and their families, the Contra Costa Times reports.
AAHP Hires William Morris Talent Agency to Help Improve Media Image
The American Association of Health Plans has hired the William Morris talent agency to help improve its members’ images and the portrayal of managed care in general in movies and television programs, the Wall Street Journal reports.
Los Angeles County supervisors should add a fee to speeding ticket fines to help cover the cost of trauma care in the county, a Los Angeles Times editorial says.
American Heart Association Issues Guidelines To Improve Kids Nutrition
In response to the increasing obesity rate among American children over the past 20 years, the American Heart Association has released guidelines for parents and doctors to help “improve kids’ nutrition, activity levels and overall health,” the Los Angeles Times reports.
New Policies Help Sacramento-Area Hospitals To Reduce Rate of Ambulance Diversion in Emergency Rooms
Sacramento-area hospitals have reduced the number of hours per month that they have to divert trauma patients as a result of overcrowded emergency rooms, a trend that many officials had “feared” would become a “full-blown public health crisis,” the Sacramento Bee reports.
African Americans Disproportionately Affected by HIV, CDC Report Says
Although the rate of new HIV infections has remained constant over the past four years, the virus is disproportionately affecting African Americans, particularly heterosexual black women and gay black men, according to new CDC data presented yesterday at the XIV International AIDS Conference in Barcelona, Spain, the Los Angeles Times reports.
Oregon Hospital Plans Statewide Telepsychiatry Network To Extend Care to Rural Areas
Administrators at the St. Charles Medical Center, based in Bend, Ore., plan to launch a statewide telepsychiatry network that will provide access to mental health specialists in the state’s rural central and eastern regions, the Associated Press reports.
Davis Plan To Use Tobacco Settlement Funds To Balance Budget ‘Shortsighted,’ Chronicle Says
It would be “shortsighted” for Gov. Gray Davis (D) and the Legislature to redirect tobacco settlement funds and money generated by cigarette taxes to help balance the budget, according to a San Francisco Chronicle editorial.
Florida Woman Files Lawsuit Over Mailed Free Sample of Prozac Citing Privacy Violations
A South Florida woman who received a free sample of once-a-week Prozac filed suit this week against her doctors, pharmacy chain Walgreen Co. and Prozac manufacturer Eli Lilly & Co. for alleged invasion of privacy and improper medical practice, AP/Newsday reports.