Latest California Healthline Stories
Heavy Use Of CT Scans Raises Concerns About Patients’ Exposure To Radiation
CT scans, which are administered more than 85 million times a year, are an important diagnostic tool, but just one can be equivalent to 200 X-rays. Some doctors warn that health providers are not considering possible consequences when ordering the tests.
Hospitals Required To Keep Caregivers In The Loop
California is one of several states to pass laws intended to involve caregivers in discussions when patients are hospitalized or discharged.
Hospital Buyer Agrees to AG Conditions
The state attorney general set stringent conditions on the sale of six Daughters of Charity hospitals, most of them safety-net facilities. The buyer, BlueMountain Capital Management, has agreed to abide by the terms.
Report Examines Cancer Surgeries in California Hospitals
Higher volume has been linked with better outcomes for some types of cancer surgeries, but information about which hospitals performed which surgeries was not easy to come by. A new report examines the frequency of those surgeries at hospitals across California.
Report Pegs Hospital Efficiency Savings at $10 Billion; Hospitals Beg To Differ
If California hospitals were more efficient, they could save the health system $10 billion a year, according to a recent report. At the same time, those hospitals have some of the top efficiency numbers in the nation. What gives?
Study: Hospitals Need Better Efficiency
About two-thirds of the money that could be saved through better efficiency in California’s health system comes from the inpatient hospital sector, according to a new study.
State Grades Hospitals on Stroke Outcomes, Readmission Rates
Consumers and insurers can now compare the quality of care for stroke patients in California online, using data from the Office of Statewide Health Planning and Development.
Reproductive Rights Battle Continues
Controversy over a patient’s wish to be sterilized at a Catholic hospital illustrates what health advocates say is growing problem of reproductive health care delivery at Catholic hospitals.
Bill To End Intoxicated Patient Diversion
The Assembly Committee on Health approved legislation to stop hospitals from asking police to take their severely intoxicated patients.
New Urgent Care Center Helps Fill Void After East Bay Hospital Closure
When Doctors Medical Center, a safety-net hospital serving low-income patients in San Pablo, closed this spring, community leaders cobbled together a revised health care plan centered around a new urgent care center.