- California Healthline Original Stories 2
- Forecast Shows Deepening Shortage Of Mental Health Professionals In California
- The Training Of Dr. Robot: Data Wave Hits Medical Care
- Hospital Roundup 1
- 'Patient Dumping' A Startlingly Frequent Practice For Sacramento's Hospitals, Survey Shows
- Public Health and Education 1
- Advocates Want Doctors, Nurses To Play Bigger Role In Combating Sex Trafficking
- Around California 1
- San Diego’s Sharp Health Plan Nabs 'Excellent' Rating From Quality Assurance Nonprofit
Latest From California Healthline:
California Healthline Original Stories
Forecast Shows Deepening Shortage Of Mental Health Professionals In California
A report released this week finds that licensed providers do not reflect the state’s ethnic diversity and are distributed unevenly around the state — and the picture could become much worse in 10 years. (Brian Rinker, )
The Training Of Dr. Robot: Data Wave Hits Medical Care
Algorithms and other technologies are moving from research labs to hospitals and clinics to predict and combat disease. (John McQuaid, )
More News From Across The State
'Patient Dumping' A Startlingly Frequent Practice For Sacramento's Hospitals, Survey Shows
"Patient dumping" is when poor people are discharged from hospitals and other health care providers to shelters or the streets without advance planning. In a recent poll of agencies that serve the poor in the Sacramento area, one facility reported the practice occurring two or three times a week, and three facilities said it happens about once a week.
Sacramento Bee:
Dumping Patients At Homeless Shelters ‘A Systemic Issue’ In Sacramento, New Survey Says
Data released this week by a nonprofit advocacy group, the Sacramento Regional Coalition to End Homelessness, suggest that the practice of sending patients to shelters without advance notification is not uncommon. The organization recently surveyed agencies that serve the poor in the Sacramento area about whether homeless people recently had been dropped off at their organizations – by ambulance, cab or ride share – immediately following discharge from a health care provider and without prior notification. (Hubert, 2/14)
In other hospital news —
East Bay Times:
Bill Paxton’s Family Blames Surgeon, World-Famous Hospital For Actor’s 2017 Death
Nearing the anniversary of the death of actor Bill Paxton, his family has filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the surgeon and the world-famous Los Angeles hospital involved in the heart operation that triggered a fatal stroke. The lawsuit was filed against surgeon Ali Khoynezhad and Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles, the Fort-Worth Star Telegram reported Monday. The Fort Worth-born actor, who starred in “Apollo 13” and “Titanic,” died Feb. 25, 2017, at age 61. According to a news release from Paxton’s family, they contend that Khoynezhad performed an improper procedure that led to the actor’s death. The family also said that inactions by Cedars-Sinai contributed to the complications that led to the stroke. (Ross, 2/13)
Los Angeles Times:
Bill Paxton Family Sues Hospital, Doctor For Wrongful Death
The suit filed Friday against Cedars-Sinai Medical Center alleges the surgeon, used a "high risk and unconventional surgical approach" that was unnecessary and that he lacked the experience to perform, and that he downplayed the procedure's risks. And it alleges the hospital knew the surgeon, Dr. Ali Khoynezhad, tended to "engage in maverick surgeries and show suboptimal judgment." ... Cedars-Sinai said it could not offer public comment about Paxton's case. ... Khoynezhad has since left Cedars-Sinai for another hospital. An after-hours message left seeking comment from him was not immediately returned. (Dalton, 2/14)
Advocates Want Doctors, Nurses To Play Bigger Role In Combating Sex Trafficking
Most victims of sex trafficking have to see a doctor at some point, and advocates say that moment of contact can often make more of a difference than if the victims had access to talk to cops.
Capital Public Radio:
Most Sex Trafficking Victims See A Doctor At Some Point. Experts Say Clinics, Hospitals Can Help End The Abuse.
Though trafficking has historically been seen as a law enforcement issue, clinics and hospitals are starting to play a role in identifying and helping victims. Advocates say it’s on medical professionals to take action. A 2014 survey of sex trafficking victims found that 88 percent had contact with a health care provider at some point while being trafficked. (Caiola, 2/13)
San Diego’s Sharp Health Plan Nabs 'Excellent' Rating From Quality Assurance Nonprofit
Sharp received top marks in the categories of access, consumer experience and helping people stay healthy.
KPBS:
Sharp Health Plan Earns Top Marks From Nonprofit Ratings Group
San Diego’s Sharp Health Plan has earned a rating of “excellent” from the nonprofit National Committee for Quality Assurance. The NCQA bases its ratings on clinical performance and customer satisfaction. It takes into account clinical data provided by insurers, patient surveys and reports from independent auditors. (Goldberg, 2/14)
In other news from across the state —
Orange County Register:
Costa Mesa Planning Commission Denies Permits For More Sober-Living Homes
Costa Mesa planning commissioners denied three permits to a sober-living operator Monday, Feb. 12 and rescheduled hearings for two other applications. ...Some commissioners raised concerns over the number of residents that would live on the Cabrillo Street properties. (Casiano, 2/13)
Industry Leaders Trying To Stop Flood Of Pot Businesses Into Sacramento's Warehouse District
Half of the companies that have been approved by the city to grow and manufacture marijuana are eyeing a certain district for their business location.
Capital Public Radio:
Half Of Sacramento’s Proposed Marijuana Businesses Want To Move To This Neighborhood
Half of the applications to grow and manufacture marijuana in the city of Sacramento are eyeing one industrial neighborhood — and its business leaders want to stop a flood of pot in the area. Since it began accepting submissions in April of last year, the city has received 160 applications for pot grows and processing companies. But 80 hope to open shop in the industrial warehouse district near Power Inn Road. (Moffitt, 2/13)
In other news —
PolitiFact California:
How Much Privacy Do You Have When You Buy Marijuana In California?
Should California’s marijuana customers be worried about the federal government charging them with a crime? That’s the provocative question a reader asked us after we published Pot 101, an article that outlines what you can and can’t legally do under the state’s recreational marijuana law, Proposition 64. (Nichols, 2/13)
Facing Millions In Penalties, Companies Push Back On IRS Decision To Enforce ACA Employer Mandate
The health law imposes a penalty on employers with more than 50 workers who don’t provide qualifying coverage to employees, but the fines weren’t initially enforced.
The Wall Street Journal:
Businesses Challenge IRS Bid To Start Enforcing Insurance Mandate
Businesses are pushing back on the Internal Revenue Service’s decision to begin enforcing the Affordable Care Act’s employer insurance mandate, challenging penalties that run into the millions and asserting the agency is wrong to impose the fines. The ACA imposes a penalty on employers with more than 50 workers who don’t provide qualifying coverage to employees, but the fines weren’t initially enforced. In November, the IRS said it would begin assessing penalties, starting with companies that failed to comply in 2015, when parts of the employer mandate first kicked in. (Armour, 2/13)
In other national health care news —
The Hill:
Ryan Calls For 'Incremental' Health Reforms After Failure Of ObamaCare Repeal
Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) is calling for "incremental" health-care reform after the Senate failed to pass an ObamaCare replacement bill last year. Asked on Fox Business on Tuesday if lawmakers will try again to pass an ObamaCare repeal legislation this year, Ryan pointed to incremental changes. (Sullivan, 2/13)
The Hill:
Planned Parenthood Announces Nationwide Push For Abortion, Birth Control Legislation
Planned Parenthood on Tuesday announced a nationwide initiative to expand access to abortion, birth control and reproductive health care. Planned Parenthood, its affiliates, state lawmakers and other partners will roll out legislation in more than a dozen states this week that it says will expand access to sexual and reproductive care, with a plan to advance initiatives in all 50 states by the end of the year. (Hellmann, 2/13)
The Washington Post:
Sanders Claims White House Budget Would Kill Thousands But Mulvaney Says That’s Not True
Sen. Bernie Sanders (D-Vt.) berated White House budget director Mick Mulvaney over President Trump’s budget proposal Tuesday, contending that thousands of people would die and others would freeze because of the administration’s proposed cuts. Sanders was referring specifically to the budget proposal’s repeal of the Affordable Care Act and cuts to the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program. (Werner, 2/13)
Reuters:
U.S. Can Sue UnitedHealth In $1 Billion Medicare Case, Judge Rules
A federal judge has ruled the U.S. Justice Department can move forward with a lawsuit claiming UnitedHealth Group Inc wrongly retained more than $1 billion from the government healthcare program Medicare. U.S. District Judge Michael Fitzgerald in Los Angeles on Monday ruled that the department had sufficiently alleged UnitedHealth submitted invalid diagnostic data related to the health status of patients enrolled in Medicare Advantage plans. (Raymond, 2/13)
Politico:
Google Paper Stirs Interest, But Not Seen As Transformative
By throwing some of its best engineering and medical minds at vast stores of clinical data with the help of powerful computers running for hundreds of thousands of hours, Google appears to have produced a model that accurately predicts patient deaths, hospital readmissions and other health-related events. The model won't transform medicine. But academics and other technology mavens think the methods described in the paper serve as a prototype for future work in predictive models, in areas like end-of-life care. (Tahir, 2/13)
The New York Times:
Adam Rippon On Quiet Starvation In Men’s Figure Skating
Shortly before Adam Rippon’s breakthrough victory at the United States figure skating championships, Brian Boitano crossed paths with him and asked how he was doing. Boitano, the 1988 Olympic gold medalist, expected Rippon to rave about his jumps or his signature spins. Instead, Boitano said, Rippon pulled back his shoulders, puffed out his chest and proudly proclaimed, “I’ve never been thinner.” (Crouse, 2/13)
The Wall Street Journal:
Is Chocolate A Healthy Choice For Valentine’s Day? That Depends On Which Kind
Valentine’s Day is known for two things: romantic love and chocolate. Romance is famously fickle—it comes and goes. But our love affair with chocolate never seems to wane. Americans spend more today on chocolate products than the gross national product of some of the countries where cacao is grown. The research group Euromonitor International reports that U.S. sales of chocolate went from $14.2 billion in 2007 to $18.9 billion in 2017, a period during which overall sales for candy declined, largely because of growing health concerns over sugar. (Schiffman, 2/13)