- Sacramento Watch 1
- California Has 14 New Laws Geared Toward Curbing The Opioid Epidemic. Here's What They Are.
- Around California 1
- More Families Sue Dental Clinic Over Bacterial Infections Contracted Following Children's Root Canals
Latest From California Healthline:
California Healthline Original Stories
Call The Midwife! (If The Doctor Doesn’t Object)
Hospitals and medical practices are battling outdated stereotypes and sometimes their own doctors to hire certified nurse midwives. Research shows that women cared for by certified nurse midwives have fewer cesarean sections, which can produce significant cost savings for hospitals. (Anna Gorman, )
More News From Across The State
California Has 14 New Laws Geared Toward Curbing The Opioid Epidemic. Here's What They Are.
The legislation touches on oversight of rehab facilities, an opioid database, curbing prescriptions, increasing naloxone access and more.
Capital Public Radio:
Here Are California's New Laws To Address The State's Opioid Crisis
The California Legislature looked at more than 20 bills last year designed to address the ongoing opioid crisis, passing 14. The laws cover a few approaches to bringing opioid death numbers down, including stemming over-prescribing practices, improving medication assisted treatment and saving people in the throes of overdose with an antidote called naloxone. Here’s a roundup of what former Gov. Jerry Brown signed to tackle the problem. (Caiola, 1/16)
The bacterial outbreak, which occurred in 2016, sickened dozens of children, some of whom lost permanent teeth because of the infections. There are now 113 plaintiffs in a series of lawsuits against the Children's Dental Group, and lawyers expect that number to grow.
Orange County Register:
65 More Families File Lawsuit Against Anaheim Dental Clinic On Behalf Of Infected Children
Sixty-five families whose children were infected by rare bacteria when they underwent pulpotomies, or “baby root canals,” at an Anaheim clinic two years ago filed a lawsuit Wednesday, Jan. 16, naming the clinic, its operators, the company that installs and maintains water filtration systems, and several dentists. The lawsuit, which was filed in Orange County Superior Court in Santa Ana, alleges that Children’s Dental Group and dentists who provided services there performed hundreds if not thousands of unnecessary pulpotomies on children. Potentially deadly Mycobacterium abscessus was found in several samples the county’s Health Care Agency took from the clinic’s water system. (Bharath, 1/16)
In other news from across the state —
San Diego Union-Tribune:
Palomar Health Also Switching To District Elections
Palomar Health’s board of directors has decided its 2020 election will be based on districts to avoid the threat of a lawsuit if the area’s public hospital district does not abandon its at-large election method.Based on the two draft maps, Rancho Bernardo and Poway will each be split among several districts unless another map is proposed showing different boundary lines. A third public hearing on the change was held Monday evening at Palomar Medical Center Poway prior to the board’s monthly meeting. It was the first for which a press release was sent to media last Friday afternoon announcing the election change. No public comment was given at the meeting. (Himchak, 1/16)
The Delano Record:
Delano Regional Agrees To Join Adventist Health
Delano Regional Medical Center has agreed to become part of Adventist Health Central California, pending regulatory approval. The move announced Jan. 11 would fold 156-bed Delano Regional, operated by Central California Foundation for Health since 1992, into a much larger nonprofit organization with hospitals, clinics and other resources in 80 communities across the West Coast and Hawaii. The addition of Delano Regional would also restack Kern County's highly competitive hospital market. Adventist's primary competitor in Bakersfield, San Francisco-based Dignity Health, has three local hospitals: Bakersfield Memorial and Mercy Hospital's downtown and southwest Bakersfield locations. If DRMC joins Adventist, then the Roseville-based chain would have three hospitals in Kern — one each in Bakersfield, Delano and Tehachapi — plus another proposed in northwest Bakersfield. (Cox, 1/17)
The sticker price, though, is quite steep at $8,000 for a liter. UC Berkeley researchers have described the procedure as "dangerous," because transfusions always carry with them a high probability of risk.
East Bay Times:
Blood From The Young Now On Sale For The Old In San Francisco: Report
You don’t have to drink the blood of children to reclaim the vigor of your lost youth. You can mainline it. For $8,000 a liter. Ambrosia, a startup founded by a Stanford Medical School graduate, has begun pouring the blood of the young into the hardened arteries of their elders in five cities, one of them San Francisco, according to a new report. (Baron, 1/17)
In other public health news —
KQED:
California's Top Pesticide Regulator Resigns Without Offering Explanation
California's chief pesticide regulator is leaving his post. Brian Leahy, who has served as director of the state Department of Pesticide Regulation for the last seven years, announced his resignation in an email to agency staff last week, but stopped short of explaining why. (Goldberg, 1/16)
Skid Row Housing Trust Tackles Food Insecurity By Teaching Residents How To Cook
Healthful food is a “real tool to keep people stable, keep people housed, help people thrive and to be able to reintegrate into the community,” said Jack Lahey, director of resident programs and part of the Skid Row Housing Trust's food insecurity task force.
Los Angeles Times:
In A Skid Row Apartment Building, L.A. Restaurant Chefs Help Residents Get Cooking
For the uninitiated, the Cobb isn’t a luxury condo offering cooking classes as an amenity to fill expensive apartments, but a 76-unit permanent supportive apartment building on Skid Row developed and managed by the Skid Row Housing Trust. Founded in 1989, the Trust is a pioneer of the “housing first” model, which offers permanent, unconditional housing for homeless individuals, along with healthcare and other on-site services. (Nguyen, 1/17)
In other news —
Los Angeles Times:
Costa Mesa Moves Ahead With Plan For Temporary 50-Bed Homeless Shelter; Long-Term Site Is Still Undetermined
Officials and advocates hailed the dawn of a new day in Costa Mesa as the City Council unanimously agreed Tuesday night to move forward with developing a temporary 50-bed homeless shelter at Lighthouse Church of the Nazarene in the Westside. The new-day sentiment was not only symbolic but literal, as the decision came at the tail end of a lengthy meeting that adjourned shortly after midnight. (Money, 1/16)
Drug Pricing Firmly At Center Stage On Capitol Hill As Divided Congress Kicks Off New Session
There's been a flurry of movement and discussions this week about the issue, which many say will be one of the few bipartisan issues that the divided Congress can tackle in the next two years.
The Hill:
Key House Dem: I Don't Want To 'Punish' Drug Companies
A key Democrat on drug pricing issues said Wednesday that she does not want to “punish” the pharmaceutical industry, striking a softer tone than many other Democrats do on the issue. Rep. Anna Eshoo (D-Calif.), the new chairwoman of the powerful Energy and Commerce health subcommittee, has received criticism from some drug pricing advocates that she is too close to the pharmaceutical industry. (Sullivan, 1/16)
Stat:
Rep. DeGette Promises To Call Drug Industry CEOs To Testify
House Oversight Chairman Elijah Cummings (Md.) isn’t the only newly empowered Democrat with his eyes on drug makers. Rep. Diana DeGette of Colorado, the newly minted chair of the Energy and Commerce Committee’s oversight arm, is also planning to haul industry CEOs before her own panel, she said Wednesday at a briefing with reporters. (Florko, 1/16)
The Hill:
HHS Secretary, Senate Finance Republicans Talk Drug Pricing
Senate Finance Republicans met with Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar on Wednesday to discuss the administration's drug pricing proposals. The committee's new chairman, Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), said the senators and Azar discussed the administration's controversial proposal to base what Medicare pays for prescription drugs on prices in other countries. (Hellmann, 1/16)
The Hill:
PhRMA CEO 'Hopeful' Trump Officials Will Back Down On Drug Pricing Move
The head of the pharmaceutical industry’s main lobbying group said Wednesday that he remains “hopeful” the Trump administration will back down on its controversial proposal to lower drug prices. Steve Ubl, CEO of the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America (PhRMA), told reporters he is “heartened” by a “broad coalition of folks that have raised concerns about this model, not only us.” (Sullivan, 1/16)
Stat:
Rising Drug Prices Are Making Hospitals Feel A Little Sick
The rising cost of medicines is leaving some hospitals feeling under the weather. A new survey finds that many hospitals are spending more on prescription drugs each year. Between 2015 and 2017, total spending at U.S. community hospitals for each admitted patient climbed 18.5 percent, from $468 to $555, resulting in $1.8 million in added spending for the average hospital. (Silverman, 1/16)
Stat:
Patient Groups Blast Trump Drug Pricing Proposal In New Ad Campaign
A coalition of patient advocacy and medical groups — led by the American Cancer Society’s advocacy arm and joined by the American Medical Association — launched an advertising campaign Thursday to drum up opposition to a proposed change to Medicare they say will “put patients’ lives at risk.” ...The ads will run in major national newspapers including the New York Times and the Washington Post, beginning today, according to an email laying out the campaign for supporters obtained by STAT. (Swetlitz 1/17)
"The FDA made it really clear that the responsibility for food safety lies with the companies," said Catherine Donnelly, a professor at the University of Vermont. "They just have responsibility for oversight and determining whether there are violations." But other experts say that especially pregnant women or children with an immune deficiency might want to avoid taking any risks.
CNN:
FDA And The Government Shutdown: Foods You May Want To Avoid
Should you be worried about the safety of your food during the government shutdown? The answer is complicated, and it depends who you ask. "We are very concerned that the shutdown may lead to lapses in food safety, but we don't know where or when these will happen," said Sarah Sorscher, deputy director of regulatory affairs at the Center for Science in the Public Interest, a consumer advocacy group. (Goldschmidt and Scutti, 1/16)
Reuters:
U.S. Shutdown Taking Toll On FDA, USDA Inspection Roles: Experts
The partial government shutdown is taking a toll on key safety inspection duties performed by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and Department of Agriculture, food safety experts said on Wednesday. Workers in public health laboratories are reporting disruptions in the analysis of DNA from food samples involved in foodborne outbreaks, and have raised concerns about a USDA program that tests agricultural commodities for unsafe levels of pesticides, they said. (1/16)
In other national health care news —
The Hill:
Dem Chairwoman Plans Hearing On Medicare For All Proposals
The incoming chairwoman of a powerful health care subcommittee on Wednesday said that she intends to hold a hearing on several “Medicare for all” proposals, potentially giving the plans a chance to be considered by key lawmakers. “There are several Medicare for all bills that are out there, but they all have a different interpretation,” Rep. Anna Eshoo (D-Calif.), the new chairwoman of the Energy and Commerce health subcommittee, told reporters. “I think that it would be interesting to have the authors of these bills come to testify and explain what their bill does and have the members ask them questions.” (Sullivan, 1/16)
The Associated Press:
Less Beef, More Beans. Experts Say World Needs A New Diet
A hamburger a week, but no more — that's about as much red meat people should eat to do what's best for their health and the planet, according to a report seeking to overhaul the world's diet. Eggs should be limited to fewer than about four a week, the report says. Dairy foods should be about a serving a day, or less. (1/16)
The Associated Press:
The Best Rx For Teens Addicted To Vaping? No One Knows
The nation's top health authorities agree: Teen vaping is an epidemic that now affects some 3.6 million underage users of Juul and other e-cigarettes. But no one seems to know the best way to help teenagers who may be addicted to nicotine. E-cigarettes are now the top high-risk substance used by teenagers, according to the latest U.S. figures , which show that Juul and similar products have quickly outpaced cigarettes, alcohol, marijuana and other substances that have been tracked over more than four decades. (1/16)
CNN:
Why Vaping Is So Dangerous For Teens
Most of what we know about nicotine addiction in teens, we know from cigarettes. But experts say the technology and chemistry of vaping might pose an entirely different threat. "It turns out that e-cigarette use by kids doesn't look the same at all," said Dr. Sharon Levy, director of the Adolescent Substance Use and Addiction Program at Boston Children's Hospital. "How you're delivering [nicotine] and how much you're delivering ... everything you change really matters." (Nedelman, 1/17)
Stat:
Purdue Pharma Cemented Ties With Universities And Hospitals
In the early 2000s, when Dr. Jane Ballantyne was director of the Pain Center at Massachusetts General Hospital, the opioid-pill maker Purdue Pharma struck a deal with the Boston hospital to start a pain program there. To Ballantyne, it seemed like a boon. Two organizations — one academic, one a drug company — with the shared goal of easing patients’ pain coming together to collaborate. Working with Purdue, she said then, “will assist us in finding ways to clear up misconceptions and misunderstandings about pain and provide caregivers with the knowledge and resources they need to help patients.” (Joseph, 1/16)