Latest California Healthline Stories
Glaxo Pulls Lotronex from Market
Following reports of deaths and hospitalizations resulting from the use of Lotronex — an bowel syndrome drug that received FDA fast-track approval — Glaxo Wellcome Inc. pulled the drug from the market yesterday after losing a protracted battle with the agency over safety problems, the Los Angeles Times reports.
UNAIDS/WHO Releases World AIDS Epidemic Update
UNAIDS and the World Health Organization yesterday jointly released their annual report, titled “AIDS Epidemic Update,” on the current state of the AIDS epidemic worldwide.
Orange County Challenges Constitutionality of Measure H
Orange County officials Monday filed suit in county Superior Court seeking to overturn Measure H, the ballot initiative approved by 64.6% of voters on Nov. 7 that would allocate 80% of the county’s tobacco settlement to health care services, the Orange County Register reports.
KPC Patients ‘Slowly’ Find New Providers
Nearly 300,000 patients left without physicians when KPC Medical Management filed for bankruptcy on Friday are “slowly finding new medical care” by contacting other doctors groups and insurance companies, the Inland Valley Daily Bulletin reports.
Hippocrates Offers Email Tips, Help for Doctors
In the November issue of Hippocrates, Laura Johnson Morasch, director of medical affairs at the California Academy of Family Physicians, offers providers suggestions and guidelines for using email to communicate with patients.
Uninsured Give Low Ratings to Community Medical Centers
Many of the uninsured patients treated at
Community Medical Centers’ two Fresno hospitals are not satisfied with the level of service they receive at the facilities, according to a new survey by The Access Project, a health care research organization.
Cabinet Members Rumored While Presidential Race Remains in Limbo
While the presidential race remains in limbo, Texas Gov. George W. Bush (R) and Vice President Al Gore (D) are “mulling over members of their prospective administrations,” USA Today reports.
Mental Health Neglected in Rural Areas
Mental illness, long considered an “urban problem,” goes largely undetected and untreated in rural America, according to U.S. News and World Report.
Americans Divided Over Smoking Tolerance
Americans appear to be “ambivalent” about smoking, with approximately 18 million adults saying that it’s alright for parents to allow their children to smoke and nearly 64 million saying that tobacco use is “acceptable” or “very acceptable” among co-workers, according to a Mississippi State University report released yesterday, USA Today reports.
SAMHSA Issues Report on Substance Abuse Treatment
At a Nov. 28 press conference, officials from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) and the Center for Substance Abuse Treatment (CSAT) released a set of recommendations designed to remove the stigma from drug dependency and move people into “effective” treatment services.