Archived California Healthcare News

Older breast cancer patients who received radiation treatment after surgery were more likely to undergo a more expensive and somewhat controversial type of radiation called brachytherapy if they got their care at for-profit rather than nonprofit hospitals, a new study reports.

The Santa Clara Valley Individual Practice Association has formed an accountable care collaborative with insurer Aetna. The agreement, which will commence next month, includes more coordinated management of SCCIPA\'s Aetna-enrolled patients with chronic conditions such as diabetes and asthma. It will be branded as part of Aetna\'s Whole Health product line, which touts coordinated care for small and medium-sized employer groups.

Scripps Health, Sutter Division Among Best Hospital Systems In Country

Scripps Health in San Diego and Sutter Health's Sacramento/Sierra Region were among those named the top hospital systems in the country by Truven Health Analytics.

In a valley wedged between the Mississippi and Missouri rivers, St. Louis often finds itself beset by a stationary air mass that only a severe storm of some kind can dislodge. St. Louis is also an industrial city with high humidity, so it’s no wonder it usually makes the list of worst places for asthmatics to live. But the state has also pioneered advances in addressing asthma treatment and costs. Two years ago, the Missouri Legislature became the first to allow schools to stock quick-relief asthma medications for emergencies. Missouri also became the first state to permit school nurses and other trained staff to administer that medication to any child suffering an asthmatic attack while at school, whether or not the child has an asthma diagnosis or a prescription at the school.

Joan Eisenstodt didn’t have a stopwatch when she went to see an ear-nose-and-throat specialist recently, but she is certain the physician was not in the exam room with her for more than three or four minutes. “He looked up my nose, said it was inflamed, told me to see the nurse for a prescription and was gone,” said the 66-year-old Washington, D.C., consultant, who was suffering from an acute sinus infection.

If a health plan enrollee wants to overturn their insurer\'s denial for covering a medical procedure or test, their chances are about even money if they file an appeal with state regulators to have the decision overturned. But if that same enrollee wants to sue that health plan, they face a much tougher battle.

When America’s joint surgeons were challenged to come up with a list of unnecessary procedures in their field, their selections shared one thing: none significantly impacted their incomes. The American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons discouraged patients with joint pain from taking two types of dietary supplements, wearing custom shoe inserts or overusing wrist splints after carpal tunnel surgery. The surgeons also condemned an infrequently performed procedure where doctors wash a pained knee joint with saline.

President Barack Obama Friday officially announced the resignation of Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius, praising her efforts to implement the federal health overhaul and predicting that it would \"benefit our families and our country for decades to come.\" In a White House ceremony, the president also announced that he plans to nominate Sylvia Mathews Burwell, the director of the Office of Management and Budget, to replace Sebelius. News of the transition had leaked Thursday night.

A training regimen for nurses that was mostly performed via the Internet helped Dignity Health save about $30 million and avoid a multitude of hospital-acquired infections, patient falls and other avoidable incidents at its 32 inpatient facilities statewide. Dignity was able to train about 600 of its nurses to become more cognizant of medical conditions and modes of care more likely to lead to HAIs and other avoidable conditions. The nurses, known as “measureventionists,” received much of their training via informational webinars streamed over the Internet. They were trained to focus on and implement specific protocols for ensuring that quality of care remained high.