Latest California Healthline Stories
Surgeons Cash In on Stakes in Private Medical Device Companies
Doctors tied to professional sports teams share in investment bonanza.
‘The Vaccination Queen’: Nurse Practitioner Takes Covid Shots House to House in Puerto Rico
Abigail Matos-Pagán, a critical care expert who has galvanized relief efforts after hurricanes and earthquakes, is on a mission to inoculate as many Puerto Rican residents as possible.
“La reina de la vacunación”: enfermera lleva las dosis contra covid de casa en casa en Puerto Rico
Abigail Matos-Pagán, experta en cuidados críticos que ha impulsado tareas de ayuda tras huracanes y terremotos, se ha propuesto vacunar al mayor número posible de residentes de Puerto Rico.
Injuries Mount as Sales Reps for Device Makers Cozy Up to Surgeons, Even in Operating Rooms
Aggressive sales tactics have allegedly led surgeons to use defective or wrong-size implants, screws or other products on patients, including former Olympian Mary Lou Retton.
Journalists Assess the Latest Covid Surge and the Nation’s Vaccination Effort
KHN and California Healthline staff made the rounds on national and local media this week to discuss their stories. Here’s a collection of their appearances.
Déjà Vu? Consumers Scramble for Covid Tests in Hard-Hit Areas
As the nation confronts the delta variant, many consumers are again facing delays getting tested. The problem appears most acute in the South and Midwest, where new infections are growing the fastest, but Californians are also encountering bottlenecks.
Pharmacies Face Extra Audit Burdens That Threaten Their Existence
Pharmacy benefit managers have curtailed in-person audits of pharmacy claims during the pandemic, switching to virtual audits done by computer. That has markedly increased the number of claims they can review — and the chances for payment denials — squeezing pharmacies and bringing in more cash for the benefit companies.
Clarity on Covid Count: Pandemic’s Toll on Seniors Extended Well Beyond Nursing Homes
The latest research shows that although deaths in nursing homes received enormous attention, far more older adults who perished from covid lived outside of institutions. People with dementia and other severe neurological conditions, chronic kidney disease and immune deficiencies were hit especially hard.
Hard Lessons From a City That Tried to Privatize Public Health
Facing bankruptcy, Detroit largely dismantled its public health department in 2012, and the city essentially went two years without a government-run public health system. Five years later, this major American city offers a grim cautionary tale.
A California Bill Would Limit Protests at Vaccination Sites. Does It Violate the First Amendment?
A proposal breezing through the state legislature would make it illegal to obstruct someone from getting a covid-19 shot, or any other vaccine, but some free speech experts say it goes too far.