Latest California Healthline Stories
Housing, Treatment for Homeless Mentally Ill Saves Emergency Care Costs
Providing housing and treatment for homeless individuals with mental illness costs taxpayers only “slightly more than leaving them to fend for themselves,” the Wall Street Journal reports.
State Audit Finds Health Department Fails to Provide Treatment to Children with Lead Poisoning
The state Department of Health has failed to identify and provide treatment for about 90% of children with lead poisoning, possibly allowing “thousands … to suffer needlessly,” according to a new report from the California State Auditor.
Satcher Talks About Minority Health Needs
Surgeon General David Satcher Monday called for “continued funding” of minority health research, as well as increased detection and “aggressive treatment” for minorities, saying that providing them with “equal access to health care will help ensure the ‘survival of our nation,'” the Houston Chronicle reports.
San Bernardino County Sees Drop in Infant Mortality Rate in Two ‘Troubled’ Neighborhoods
San Bernardino County officials announced this week that the county’s four-year “Healthy Start II” program aimed at reducing “alarmingly high rate of infant mortality” has succeeded in decreasing infant death rates by 35% in two neighborhoods with previously high rates, the Los Angeles Times reports.
Physician Shortage Affecting Access to Health Care, CMA’s Staggers Says
It is becoming “more and more difficult” for California residents to get the health care they need, in part because the “number of doctors has not kept pace with the population boom,” California Medical Association President Frank Staggers writes in a Sacramento Bee op-ed.
Oxycontin Makers Asked to Limit Marketing, Distribution
In its first effort to curb misuse of a specific prescription drug, the Drug Enforcement Administration has asked Stamford, Conn.-based Purdue Pharma LP to limit its distribution and marketing of the prescription painkiller OxyContin, the New York Times reports.
Kaiser Permanente Posts ‘Solid’ First Quarter Earnings
The state’s largest HMO, Kaiser Permanente, has posted “solid” first-quarter results, continuing to gain “financial ground” following its “aggressive turnaround” in 1999, the San Francisco Chronicle reports.
Western Health Looks to Benefit From CalPERS’ Contract
A new multi-year contract with CalPERS has Sacramento-based Western Health Advantage hoping for a 15% increase in enrollment and sends “the powerful message” that the hospital-owned HMO “has staying power,” the Sacramento Bee reports.
‘Upstart’ Companies Threaten Tobacco Settlement Payments
The proliferation of small tobacco companies that are not part of the 1998 national tobacco settlement is reducing the payments states receive from the major manufacturers, the Wall Street Journal reports.
Medical Students Petition to Limit Hours
Medical students, an advocacy group and several professors have filed a petition with the Occupational Safety and Health Administration to limit the work week of hospital residents to 80 hours, the Los Angeles Times reports.