Latest California Healthline Stories
FDA Overlooked Red Flags In Drugmaker’s Testing of New Depression Medicine
In March, a chemical cousin of the anesthetic and club drug ketamine was approved for the treatment of patients with intractable depression. But critics say studies presented to the FDA provided at best modest evidence it worked and did not include information about the safety of the drug, Spravato, for long-term use.
More Than Half Of Surgical Stapler Malfunctions Went To Hidden FDA Database
The FDA reveals that 56,000 malfunctions associated with surgical staplers weren’t reported through its traditional public reporting system.
Hidden Reports Masked The Scope Of Widespread Harm From Faulty Heart Device
The Food and Drug Administration allowed one company to send 50,000 reports of harm or malfunctions to an internal database even as patients worried about faulty defibrillators lodged in their hearts.
FDA To End Program That Hid Millions Of Reports On Faulty Medical Devices
In the wake of a KHN investigation, the agency will no longer let device makers file reports of harm outside a widely used public database.
Watch: Electronic Medical Records Investigation In Spotlight On C-SPAN
KHN’s Fred Schulte talks on C-SPAN with viewers about errors and other problems with computerized health records.
Lethal Plans: When Seniors Turn To Suicide In Long-Term Care
In a nation where the suicide rate continues to climb, such deaths among older adults are often overlooked. A six-month investigation by KHN and PBS NewsHour finds that older Americans are quietly killing themselves in nursing homes, assisted living centers and adult care homes.
How to Fight ‘Scary’ Superbugs? Cooperation — And A Special Soap
Hospitals and nursing homes in California and Illinois hope that regional cooperation — and a special soap — will help them gain the upper hand against deadly antibiotic-resistant superbugs.
FDA Chief Calls For Release Of All Data Tracking Problems With Medical Devices
In the wake of a KHN investigation, Scott Gottlieb says releasing the records is in the public interest.
Device-Safety Experts To FDA: Make Data Public
For almost two decades, device makers have sent reports of incidents to databases hidden from public view.
New Rules Will Ease Patients’ Access To Electronic Medical Records, Senate Panel Says
Sen. Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.), head of the influential HELP committee, wants to make it easier to share and store detailed medical histories.