Latest California Healthline Stories
Use of ‘E-Therapy’ Grows Amid Concerns
The rise of “e-therapy” — mental health counseling through the Internet — has enabled and encouraged many people to seek treatment who otherwise might not, but many mental health professionals are concerned that “cyber counseling” increases the likelihood of misdiagnoses and untreated maladies, the Washington Post reports.
Class-Action Suits Against Drug Makers Rising
The Los Angeles Times on Saturday examined the growing trend of class-action lawyers taking on pharmaceutical companies over alleged pricing improprieties, a movement that is increasing as drug makers are “fast becoming the health care industry’s new Public Enemy No. 1.”
Patent Expirations Fuel ‘War’ Between Brand-Name, Generic Drug Makers
With many top-selling brand-name prescription drugs about to lose their patent exclusivity, pharmaceutical companies are at “war” with generic drug makers, and federal and state courts have been “bombarded” with lawsuits “accusing drug companies of engaging in a host of unfair tactics to keep generic medications off the market,” the Los Angeles Times reports.
Tenet Healthcare to Buy Daniel Freeman Hospitals
Tenet Healthcare Corp. has agreed to purchase Daniel Freeman Hospitals in Inglewood and Marina del Rey for $55 million, a move that would shift the hospitals from not-for-profit to for-profit status, the Los Angeles Times reports.
Johns Hopkins Doctors Perform Telesurgeries on Patients in Rome
Specialists at the Baltimore, Md.-based Johns Hopkins School of Medicine performed 17 remote surgeries on patients in Rome between September 1998 and July 2000, Hopkins researchers reported last week at a meeting of the American Urological Association.
CBO Says ‘Rival’ Rx Drug Plans Are Affordable
The Medicare prescription drug plans put forth by Senate Democrats and House Republicans “are both affordable under the budget adopted by Congress earlier this year,” according to a new Congressional Budget Office report, the New York Times reports.
DMHC Report Finds Managed Care Companies Prevail in 65% of Independent Reviews
Under new consumer protection laws enacted Jan. 1, nearly 200 disputes between managed care plans and patients have been sent to an independent review board, and the health plans have won 65% of the time, according to a report to be released today by the Department of Managed Health Care.
Court Strikes Down Discount Vermont Rx Drug Program
An appeals court, upholding a pharmaceutical industry challenge, ruled Friday that HHS “improperly” approved Vermont’s plan to offer reduced prescription drug prices through Medicaid to seniors and some non-elderly adults who would not quality for traditional Medicaid assistance, the AP/New York Times reports.
Patients’ Rights Showdown Between Senate, White House
“Escalating the battle” over patients’ rights, White House Chief of Staff Andrew Card said yesterday that President Bush will veto legislation backed by Democrats “unless the plan is modified,” the Los Angeles Times reports.
Laotians Show Highest Teen Pregnancy Rates Among California Minorities
According to a University of California-San Francisco study to be released in July, Laotian girls had the highest teenage pregnancy rate (18.94%) among minorities in California between 1989 and 1998, a rate “well above” the state average of 11.83%, the San Francisco Chronicle reports.