Latest California Healthline Stories
DPH Warns Residents About Health Effects of Ash From Wildfires
The California Department of Public Health is warning that ash from burned homes and commercial structures destroyed by two large wildfires in the state could contain harmful chemicals — including asbestos — that could pose health risks to residents. CBS SF Bay Area, DPH release.
Groups Urge Senate Finance Committee To Release Findings From Painkiller Investigation
A coalition of groups in a letter sent Wednesday called on the Senate Finance Committee to release the findings from its three-year-old probe into ties between several opioid painkiller manufacturers and not-for-profit medical organizations. The letter, which was signed by the National Coalition Against Prescription Drug Abuse and 35 other groups, stated, “To bring our nation’s epidemic of opioid addiction to an end, we must reduce overprescribing of opioids,” adding, “This goal will be difficult to achieve if opioid makers, and the groups they fund, continue to promote aggressive and inappropriate prescribing.” AP/Sacramento Bee.
Panel Endorses NIH Plan To Create Genomic Database
NIH is moving forward with a plan to create a genomic research database for President Obama’s precision medicine initiative. The decision comes after a panel of experts endorsed the plan on Thursday. In February, Obama in his fiscal year 2016 budget proposal asked Congress for $215 million in funding for a precision medicine initiative that centers on the creation of a massive database containing the genetic data of at least one million volunteer participants. Of the funding, $131 million would go toward NIH to recruit at least one million volunteers and analyze their full genetic makeups. Wall Street Journal.
Appeals Court: Contraceptive Coverage Rules Violate Religious Rights
Yesterday, a three-judge panel of the 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that the Affordable Care Act’s contraceptive coverage rules violate the religious rights of not-for-profit organizations. In separate decisions, the court upheld preliminary injunctions against the rules filed by several plaintiffs, including Heartland Christian College in Missouri and Iowa-based Dordt College and Cornerstone University. Reuters et al.
This Year’s Flu Vaccine More Effective Than Last Year’s, CDC Says
CDC Director Tom Frieden says this year’s influenza vaccine is between 50% and 60% effective, compared with the previous vaccine, which was 23% effective. According to Frieden, the vaccine appears likely to match the strains that specialists have determined will be most prevalent this year. AP/Modern Healthcare, Reuters.
American College of Physicians Urges Brown To Veto Right-To-Die Bill
The head of the American College of Physicians this week urged Gov. Brown to veto a measure that would make physician-assisted death legal in California. ACP President Wayne Riley wrote, “Terms … used in the bill are confusing and obscure” and that “[i]t is not the role of the physician to give individuals control over the cause and timing of death.” MD Magazine, ACP letter.
Study Finds Minorities at Greater Risk of Exposure to Environmental Health Hazards
The risk of exposure to environmental health hazards — such as air pollution and toxic waste — in California was 6.2 times higher for Hispanics, 5.8 times higher for blacks and two times higher for Asians and Native Americans, when compared with whites, according to a study published in the American Journal of Public Health. For the study, researchers at UC-Berkeley and the California Environmental Protection Agency used an online tool to calculate risk scores for 11 different hazards by neighborhood, race and ethnicity. UPI.
San Diego State University To Create New Institute for Wearable Health Devices
San Diego State University is creating an institute that will focus on the development of wearable wireless devices that diagnose and monitor an individual’s health. The Smart Health Institute will be staffed by current faculty from SDSU’s engineering and health programs and four new professors who will be hired from the mobile health market, specializing in biosensors and nano-materials. San Diego Union-Tribune.
Advocates Say Balance Billing of Medi-Cal Patients on the Rise
Patient advocates say out-of-network providers increasingly are charging patients covered by California’s Medicaid program for the difference between what patients’ insurers cover and what providers charge for the service — a practice that is illegal. The California Department of Health Care Services says it is working on a notice to clarify the law for providers. Los Angeles Times.
California Hospital News Roundup for the Week of September 18, 2015
Antelope Valley Hospital has filed a lawsuit against Los Angeles County alleging that the hospital’s trauma center has not received a fair share of funding generated by a parcel tax. John Muir Health will not renew its Medicare accountable care organization program.