Latest California Healthline Stories
House Approved Measure Allowing Individuals to Reimport Rx Drugs
The House yesterday approved a measure to allow individuals to purchase FDA-approved prescription drugs from certain foreign countries, but rejected a proposal to allow drug distributors and marketers to import drugs for sale to U.S. consumers, the Los Angeles Times reports.
The Virginia General Assembly this week “unanimously” approved an amendment that would prevent “unsubstantiated” charges filed against physicians from being posted on a new state Web site listing doctors’ disciplinary records, the Richmond Times-Dispatch reports.
Study Links Neighborhoods to Heart Disease Risk
Residents of low-income neighborhoods have a higher risk of coronary heart disease than residents of wealthier neighborhoods, even when established risk factors, such as occupation, income and education, are accounted for, according to a study in today’s New England Journal of Medicine.
State Senate Health Committee Passes Nursing Home Staffing Reform Measure
In an 8-1 vote, the California Senate Health Committee yesterday passed AB 1075, a nursing home reform measure sponsored by Assembly Majority Leader Kevin Shelley (D-San Francisco), that passed the Assembly last month, the Contra Costa Times reports.
Asthma Study Shows Inequities in Care
A study published in the Archives of Internal Medicine this week of 5,062 adults with asthma concluded that African Americans are “less likely than whites” to get proper dosages of medication, information on self-care or help from a specialist, the Boston Globe reports.
Bush Medicare Rx Discount Plan Criticized by Dems, Others
President Bush will today unveil a plan to offer pharmacy discount cards to Medicare beneficiaries, but Democrats and others “immediately criticized” the proposal as “not going far enough” after several media outlets yesterday reported on the plan, the Washington Post reports.
Community Health Clinic Servicing Working Poor Worthy of State Funding, Bee Says
It is “unfortunat[e]” that Gov. Gray Davis (D) may veto a $550,000 appropriation in the proposed state budget that would create a Sacramento community health clinic to offer “one-stop shopping” for the uninsured and prevent patients from requiring “more expensive” emergency room care, according to a Sacramento Bee editorial.
FDA to Regulate Gene-Manipulating Fertility Treatments
The FDA on Friday sent a letter to six fertility centers informing physicians that the agency’s approval is required to conduct “a controversial class of fertility treatments,” marking the government’s “first significant foray into regulating the fertility field,” the Washington Post reports.
Drug Companies’ Ad Spending Doubled R&D in 2000
The nation’s leading drug companies last year spent nearly twice as much on advertising alone than on research and development, and nearly three times more on advertising, administration and executive compensation, according to a study released yesterday by Families USA.
Assembly Member Cardenas Says Republican Stalling on Budget Could Jeopardize Health Clinic Funding
At a rally outside of San Fernando-based Northeast Valley Health Center yesterday, Assembly member Tony Cardenas (D-Sylmar) “blamed” Republicans for jeopardizing funding for area clinics by “stalling action” on the state budget, the Los Angeles Times reports.