Latest California Healthline Stories
UC Nurses Strike Would ‘Further Damage’ State Health Care System, Oakland Tribune Says
A one-day strike by University of California health system nurses planned for May 29 would “only further damage [the state’s] health care system,” according to an Oakland Tribune editorial.
Congress ‘Doing Little’ to Help States with Rising Medicaid Costs, Broder Says
State budgets face their “worst fix in 20 years,” in large part as a result of increased Medicaid costs, and “Washington is doing little to help them,” columnist David Broder writes in a Washington Post opinion piece.
Eisenhower Memorial Hospital in Rancho Mirage will implement a point-of-care bar code system as the first step in a plan to include electronic medical records and computer physician order entry in hospital operations.
Senate Education Committee Defeats Legislation to Ban Soda Sales at Schools
The Senate Education Committee yesterday defeated a bill (SB 1520) that would have banned the sale of soda in public schools, the AP/Contra Costa Times reports.
Medication Errors Harm ‘Substantial’ Number of Patients, Study Finds
A study of 184 hospitals and health systems in calendar year 2000 found more than 1,200 reports of medication errors that resulted in patient harm, including three deaths, Newsday reports.
New York Times Editorials Examine Issues of Online, Medical Privacy
Two editorials in yesterday’s New York Times addressed the issues of online and medical privacy.
Some Private, Public Health Plans Covering Obesity Drugs
Despite possible adverse side effects of obesity drugs — such as Abbott Laboratories’ Meridia and Roche AG’s Xenical — an increasing number of private and public health plans are covering the medications, the Chicago Tribune reports.
Primary Care Physicians Should Screen Patients for Depression, Task Force Says
The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force yesterday recommended that primary care doctors begin screening all adult patients for depression, noting that more than half of all cases of depression are undiagnosed or mistreated, the Washington Post reports.
States Taking Legal Action to Reduce Prescription Drug Costs
In a front-page story today, the Wall Street Journal examines the increasing number of state prosecutors who are taking legal action to reduce “soaring” prescription drug costs.
State Small Businesses, Employees ‘Hard Hit’ by Increased Health Insurance Premiums
California small businesses and their employees may “take a particularly hard hit” this year as a result of increased health insurance premiums, the Contra Costa Times reports.