Latest California Healthline Stories
Detroit, Mich.-based Trinity Health System has adopted an online education program for its 60,000 employees in an effort to standardize training on policies and legal issues, including Medicare regulations.
Bush in ‘Quandary’ Over Selection of FDA Commissioner
The New York Times examines the “political quandary” President Bush faces as he attempts to appoint an FDA commissioner, a position that has remained empty for more than a year.
Budget Should Not Focus on Bioterror Over Health System
Some of the funding that President Bush’s proposed fiscal year 2003 budget “showers” on bioterrorism prevention should be reallocated to finance the “equally imperative job of bolstering” the rest of the nation’s health system, a Los Angeles Times editorial states.
Ambulance Diversions from Sacramento Emergency Rooms Soaring, Study Finds
The number of hours that Sacramento County emergency rooms are forced to divert ambulances to other hospitals because of a lack of capacity has increased more than 600% over the past three years, according to a new study.
Most Youths Do Not Receive Needed Drug AbuseTreatment
Nine out of 10 youths ages 12 to 17 who have problems with drugs or alcohol do not get needed treatment, according to a study issued this week by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, USA Today reports.
New York State Launches Physician Profiling Web Site for Consumers
New York state officials today announced the launch of a physician profiling Web site for consumers that includes “previously secret” information such as physicians’ criminal convictions, malpractice payments and revoked hospital privileges, as well as information about physicians’ backgrounds and specialties, the New York Daily News reports.
J&J Launches Nursing Recruitment Campaign
Johnson & Johnson launched a two-year, $20 million campaign this week designed to promote nursing as a career, Newsday reports.
Health Care Representatives Meet in Oakland to Discuss Plans to Cover Uninsured Californians
More than 200 representatives from public health departments, community clinics, health care unions and insurers met in Oakland yesterday to “fine-tune” nine proposals for providing health insurance to the seven million uninsured Californians, the Oakland Tribune reports.
Bush’s Funding Increase for the Department of Veterans Affairs May Help Hospitals ‘Balance Books’
President Bush’s proposed “cash infusion” for the Department of Veterans Affairs may allow Veterans Health Administration hospitals, which have “learned how to stretch a dollar” by working with “tight budgets for years now,” to “balance the books” while continuing health care innovations, MPR’s “Marketplace” reports.
Analysts Say Health Care Costs May Become ‘Hot Election Issue’ This Year
Among the public, “growing alarm” over health insurance for unemployed workers and increased costs for Americans with employer-sponsored health coverage “should set in just in time” for the congressional elections in November, according to analyst predictions, National Journal reports.