Latest California Healthline Stories
Don Berwick Wants You To Judge the Quality, Not Quantity, of His Service
Much of the news coverage — and political debate — on the federal health care overhaul has focused on long-term changes to health coverage. Although CMS head Don Berwick’s full quality agenda has received less of the spotlight, his plans are intended to immediately affect millions while saving billions.
Southern California Hospitals Taking Action To Combat Spread of Drug-Resistant ‘Superbug’
Julia Hallisy of the Empowered Patient Coalition, Jim Lott of the Hospital Association of Southern California and Greg Moran of Olive View-UCLA Medical Center spoke with California Healthline about efforts to address carbapenem-resistant Klebsiella pneumoniae.
California Hospitals Taking Steps To Reduce Rates of Health Care-Associated Infections
Kim Delahanty of the UC-San Diego Health System, Kevin Reilly of the Department of Public Health and Debby Rogers of the California Hospital Association spoke with California Healthline about efforts to curb health care-associated infections.
California Hospitals Begin Submitting Reports on Compliance With Seismic Safety Standards
Paul Coleman of OSHPD, Roger Richter of the California Hospital Association and former RAND researcher Charles Meade spoke with California Healthline about hospitals’ efforts to meet state earthquake safety standards.
Hospitals May Need To Monitor CT Scan Radiation
There is no written record in hospitals whenever radiation, particularly CT scan radiation, is given in higher-than-prescribed doses. And that’s what AB 1237 by Alex Padilla (D-Pacoima) wants to change.
“We don’t know exactly what the risks are for accumulated radiation. But it could be pretty serious. This simply begins a data-keeping, a record at hospitals around the state,” Padilla said. “We want to make sure that whatever the dose it is, that’s what should be administered.”
The bill establishes procedures to track radiation dosage, by requiring that all CT scan dosages should be recorded electronically, and it orders an annual verification of equipment. Any incidents of over-radiation would be reported to the California Department of Public Health.
University of Colorado-Denver’s Eric Coleman on the Need for Better Care Transitions
Eric Coleman, director of the Care Transitions Program at the University of Colorado-Denver, talked with California Healthline about a new program that aims to help patients transition from one care setting to another.
Recruiting, Training More Health Care Workers
There is a dearth of health care providers in California, and the demand for more highly skilled health workers will only increase when national health care reform goes into effect. That’s the word from Tom Riley, legislative advocate for the California Academy of Family Physicians, speaking at a Senate Health Committee hearing last week.
“We think the time has come for this to be front and center in the health care debate, the workforce issue,” Riley said. “This is a terribly important thing for us to be addressing.”
The proposed law, AB 2551 by Assembly member Ed Hernandez (D-West Covina), would establish the Health Workforce Development Council, a task force charged with tackling how to recruit and train a new segment of the health care workforce.
Law Takes Aim at Crowded Emergency Departments
California’s emergency departments are packed. As the ranks of the uninsured and underinsured across the state have grown, and their health problems have tended to fester and grow more acute, patients have been heading to emergency rooms in record numbers.
That means wait times have become much longer in emergency departments, and patient care is more likely to be compromised under the crush of increased demand.
A bill to address that problem — AB 2153 by Assembly member Ted Lieu (D-Torrance) — is one Senate floor vote away from going to the governor’s desk.
UC-Irvine Center Shines Spotlight on Elder Abuse
The pioneering Center of Excellence on Elder Abuse and Neglect at UC-Irvine is helping to propel a once-invisible population into view, an effort aided by the inclusion of the Elder Justice Act in the federal health care reform law.
Officials, Health Care Providers Working To Reduce Patient Readmissions in California
Experts spoke with California Healthline about a recent report from the Office of Statewide Health Planning and Development that found more than one in three California hospital patients is readmitted within a year.