Latest California Healthline Stories
Recruiting for Clinical Trials Online Raises Concerns
While several Web sites have been established to link patients to clinical trials, some physicians are “wary” of the practice, the Hartford Courant reports.
St. John’s Nursing Strike Talks Stall Over Staffing Issue
Negotiations yesterday failed to resolve the two-week-old nurses’ strike at St. John’s Regional Medical Center in Oxnard and Pleasant Valley Hospital in Camarillo, the Ventura County Star reports.
L.A. Times Looks at FDA’s Fast Track Process
While the FDA has long been regarded as a watchdog for prescription drug safety, a Los Angeles Times special report finds that under mounting pressure to speed up the drug approval process, the agency in recent years has approved some drugs that have had “deadly” consequences.
HHS to Issue New Rules to Shield Patients’ Records
The Clinton administration will issue “broad” new regulations today to protect patients’ medical records, establishing the first federal laws that prevent doctors, hospitals and health plans from releasing such information without patient consent, the Washington Post reports.
School-Based Smoking Reduction Failed
A $15 million Washington state program designed to teach schoolchildren how to resist cigarettes failed to reduce program participants’ smoking rates, according to a report published in today’s Journal of the National Cancer Institute.
Orange County Hires Staff to Plan Tobacco Settlement Allocation
Orange County Supervisors voted Tuesday to hire 23 nurses, analysts and health educators to determine how to distribute more than $14 million in tobacco settlement funds between hospitals, clinics and health programs, the Los Angeles Times reports.
Nurses ‘Go Public’ to Highlight Concerns
The Chicago Tribune today reports on how nurses and nurse unions across the country are engaging in “new, aggressive activism” to draw attention to how “inadequate” staffing levels adversely affect patient care.
Aetna to Provide Greater Support to Physician Groups
One day after unveiling a major restructuring effort, Aetna Inc. announced yesterday that it will assume risk from California physician groups for prescription drug costs and some medical costs and possibly may raise payments, the San Diego Union-Tribune reports.
Editorial Calls For ‘Centrist Health Reform’
Citing President-elect Bush’s Texas record, a Los Angeles Times editorial states that Bush “has yet to prove himself as a health care leader.”
OCAPICA Gets Grant to Study Cancer Incidence in Vietnamese-American Women
The Orange County Asian and Pacific Islander Community Alliance, a group that has studied the incidence of cervical cancer in Vietnamese-American women, has obtained a $4 million grant from the CDC and the California Endowment to study obstacles preventing this group of women from getting tested, the Orange County Register reports.