California

Latest California Healthline Stories

In Face of COVID Threat, More Dialysis Patients Bring Treatment Home

Since the COVID-19 pandemic hit, more patients are administering dialysis to themselves at home rather than receiving it in a clinic. Although home dialysis limits exposure to the virus, it comes with its own challenges.

Tough to Tell COVID From Smoke Inhalation Symptoms — And Flu Season’s Coming

Respiratory symptoms stemming from coronavirus infection and smoke inhalation are too similar to distinguish without a full workup. This is complicating the jobs of health care workers as wildfires rage up and down the West Coast.

Lights, Camera, No Action: Insurance Woes Beset Entertainment Industry Workers

Many actors, directors, backstage workers and others in the entertainment industry are often eligible for health coverage through their unions, a model that some experts promote for other gig workers. But coverage is determined by past employment, and many of these professionals aren’t working because of the coronavirus.

Hospitals, Nursing Homes Fail to Separate COVID Patients, Putting Others at Risk

COVID patients have been commingled with uninfected patients in California, Florida, New Jersey, Iowa, Ohio, Maryland, New York and beyond. While officials have penalized nursing homes for such failures, hospitals have seen less scrutiny.

As Threat of Valley Fever Grows Beyond the Southwest, Push Is On for Vaccine

Efforts are underway to bring to market a vaccine for valley fever, a fungal infection with COVID-like symptoms that occurs in the deserts of the Southwest. The illness is getting more attention as cases rise and a warming climate threatens to spread it through the West.

Long-Fought Nurse Practitioner Independence Bill Heads to Newsom

The measure caps one of the most contentious health policy debates in recent memory, potentially altering how Californians get their medical care. Gov. Gavin Newsom has until the end of September to sign or veto it.