Latest California Healthline Stories
Health Law Not Affecting Doctors’ Visits, Study Finds
Though access to medical care varied greatly by state, when researchers looked at them based on their response to the Affordable Care Act, they found little difference.
Supporters Of Recreational Marijuana Legalization Ballot Measure Kick Off Campaign
The coalition driving the effort says it has collected 600,000 petition signatures, more than the 365,880 minimum required to put the initiative on the November ballot. Meanwhile, state regulators are considering controls on the medical pot industry.
Brown Signs Tobacco Package Raising Smoking Age To 21, Curbing E-Cigarette Use
The tobacco industry has threatened to fight the new laws at the ballot box in November.
CDC: Doctors Too Frequently Prescribing Medication Over Therapy For Kids With ADHD
Three out of four children diagnosed with ADHD are put on medications even though research has found behavioral therapy to be effective. But health insurance coverage of the treatment can vary, and therapists can be hard to find in some areas.
Researchers Call For Better Tracking Of Medical Errors As They Climb To No. 3 Cause Of Deaths
Only heart disease and cancer take more lives than medical errors in America, and the exact toll is unknown because the coding system used by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to record death certificate data doesn’t capture things like communication breakdowns, diagnostic errors and poor judgment that cost lives, says a new study in the journal BMJ.
Orange County’s Eight-Fold Increase In Autism Rates Stems From Diagnostic Shift, Report Finds
Researchers suggest children who once were categorized as having one type of developmental disability are now being shifted into the autism or ADHD category as a result of better diagnosis.
Federal Lawsuit Against Nation’s Largest Medical Marijuana Dispensary Dismissed
The civil forfeiture action was filed by former U.S. Attorney Melinda Haag in 2012, after which the city of Oakland came to the defense of the Harborside Health Center by filing its own suit to block the seizure.
Nurses Walk Out Over ‘Unsafe Staffing’ At Dignity Health In Bakersfield
Mary Lynn Briggs, a nurse at Mercy and Mercy Southwest and member of the California Nurses Association, says units in the hospitals are not being provided with break relief, meaning nurses are having to work 12-hour shifts without a break.
Sutter Places Second In Ranking Of Nation’s Most Profitable Hospitals
Hospital officials, however, called the results “fundamentally flawed,” saying the authors missed $240 million of expenses.
State Fines Anthem Blue Cross $415K For Ignoring Consumers’ Grievances
The Department of Managed Health Care found 40 cases involving 83 violations where Anthem deprived its customers of grievance and appeal rights.