Latest California Healthline Stories
Use of Urgent Care Growing in Southern California
Patients in Los Angeles and Orange counties avoid long waits for emergency department treatment or an appointment with their primary care physician when they opt for urgent care.
Cash, Credits, Peer Support Incentives To Alter Bad Health Habits
Paying workers to take care of themselves could seem like an odd notion, but California businesses are funding wellness incentive programs to encourage employees to live healthier lives and in turn miss less work, be more productive and cut medical costs.
Concierge Medicine Growing in L.A., Orange Counties
Proponents of concierge medicine compare it to buying a first-class seat instead of economy on airplanes. Critics say new, direct models of payment growing in popularity in Southern California widen the gap between the haves and have-nots.
Will S.F. Paid Sick Leave Ordinance Spread to Rest of State?
A bill by Assembly member Fiona Ma proposes a statewide version of San Francisco’s city ordinance requiring employers to provide paid sick leave for workers. A new report says the San Francisco ordinance is keeping people healthier and costs down.
How Hospital Transformed Care Model in Tough Economy
Despite low funding and high demand, some public hospitals are not only surviving, but thriving. One county hospital says its success lies in reshaping itself and its image using principles embodied in its Innovative Care Center.
Biomedical Jobs No. 1 in San Diego Health Care Work Force
The recession has brought mixed results for the various sectors of San Diego’s health care labor market. The biomedical industry saw job gains in 2009, while hospitals consolidated or froze jobs. Although nursing graduates are struggling to find work in the region now, hospital officials predict future shortages of nurses and allied health professionals.
Public-Private Partnerships Help Train Health Care Work Force
Partnerships between schools and health care providers in California are helping to train the next generation of health care workers in tight economic times.
For-Profit Colleges’ Health Care Training Examined
A new study suggests that for-profit universities produce too few graduates in the most needed health care professions, such as nursing and diagnostic technology, and too many in the support occupations, such as medical assistants and massage therapists.
Program Draws Medical Students to Fresno
An innovative program for third-year medical students is shaking up the structure of medical education and possibly grooming doctors for the areas that need them the most.
Is California Ready for Health Care Profit Sharing?
If value-based purchasing of health care spreads as many predict it will, would a logical next step be to reward consumers for choosing a low-priced alternative by sharing some of the profit? We asked insurers, consumer advocates, employers and employer groups to weigh in.