Latest California Healthline Stories
Study Finds Racial Disparity in Stroke Treatment
Whites are five times more likely than blacks to receive the drug TPA for treatment of ischemic stroke, according to a study by researchers at the University of California-San Francisco, the Las Vegas Sun reports.
Small Lifestyle Changes Found to Prevent Diabetes
Patients who are at a high risk of diabetes can reduce their chances of developing the disease by 58% with an individualized, targeted diet and exercise plan, according to research appearing in today’s New England Journal of Medicine.
Study Finds Few POS Enrollees Use Self-Referrals
While the percentage of U.S. employer-based enrollment in point-of-service health plans — designed to give consumers greater flexibility compared to traditional HMOs — increased from 5% in 1993 to 22% in 2000, a new study published in yesterday’s Journal of the American Medical Association finds that only 4% to 7% of those in POS plans take advantage of their ability to obtain specialty care through a self-referral.
New Site Allows Consumers to Compare Providers’ Costs, Performance Records
On a new Web site called PatientWise that was launched this week, patients who need a certain medical procedure can “shop around for health care services much like they would for a car,” the Business Journal of Milwaukee reports.
PacifiCare’s First-Quarter Profit Falls 82%
PacifiCare Health Systems Inc., the largest U.S. operator of Medicare+Choice plans, said Wednesday that its first-quarter profit fell 82% — still exceeding analysts’ expectations — with medical costs rising after the company renegotiated contracts with doctors and hospitals.
Suit Alleges FDA Never Authorized Use of Anthrax Vaccine
Sonnie Bates, the highest-ranking active-duty military officer to refuse to take the anthrax vaccine, and John Buck, the first military physician to refuse the vaccine, filed a federal lawsuit yesterday alleging that the FDA never authorized the vaccine as a protection against biological warfare, the Washington Post reports.
Conference Looks at Using School-Based Programs to Boost Medi-Cal, Healthy Families Enrollment
Nearly 200 health providers and school and government officials from Kern, Fresno and Tulare counties met Tuesday at a conference in Bakersfield to explore strategies for enrolling more eligible children in Medi-Cal and Healthy Families, the Bakersfield Californian reports.
Los Angeles Children’s Hospital Receives $38.3M Donation
Officials at Children’s Hospital Los Angeles announced yesterday that a local philanthropist has donated $38.3 million for research at the facility, representing the “largest estate gift ever to a U.S. children’s hospital,” the Los Angeles Times report
Satcher Announces Suicide Prevention Initiative
Surgeon General David Satcher yesterday unveiled a national campaign designed to prevent suicide and raise awareness of the problem, the nation’s eighth-leading cause of death, the Albany Times-Union reports.
Reacting to GAO Report, CMA Urges Mandatory Guidelines for Flu Vaccine
The California Medical Association was “angered” yesterday that a draft congressional report discussing the nation’s flu shot program does not call for mandatory measures to prevent the shortages of shots that occurred last fall, the San Francisco Chronicle reports.