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California is the first state to ban the controversial diagnosis known as “excited delirium,” which has been used increasingly to justify excessive force by law enforcement. A human rights advocate described the law, signed this week by Gov. Gavin Newsom, as a “watershed moment” in criminal justice.
Narcan is available without a prescription. Addiction treatment experts hope this move will increase access to the medication, which can reverse opioid overdoses. But hurdles remain: cost and stigma.
Teresa Johnson has been in extreme pain for more than a year after what she believes was a severe allergic reaction to iodine. Her Medi-Cal plan approved her referral to a specialist, but it took her numerous phone calls, multiple complaints, and several months to book an appointment.
Many women, especially Black women, have reported discrimination in maternity care, but expectant mothers lack tools to see where this happens. Funding and regulations to measure disparities have been slow in arriving, but some innovators are trying to fill the void.
The American College of Emergency Physicians will vote in early October on whether to disavow its 2009 research paper on excited delirium, which has been cited as a cause of death and used as a legal defense by police officers in several high-profile cases.
As more seniors opt for Medicare Advantage, a few small insurers have begun offering plans that provide culturally targeted benefits for cohorts including Asian Americans, Latinos, and LGBTQ+ people. The approach, policy researchers say, has potential and perils.
Increasingly, hospitals are merging across separate markets within states. It’s a move that health economists and the Federal Trade Commission have been closely watching, as evidence shows such mergers raise prices for patients with no improvement in care.
Both sides, still at loggerheads over pay and staffing, agreed to keep bargaining after unions announced a possible strike Oct. 4-7. If no deal is reached, a walkout by about 75,000 KP workers in five states could disrupt care.
Americans think losing their eyesight would be one of the worst possible health outcomes, yet millions lack a fundamental understanding of eye health.
In Orange County, California, officials are threading a delicate needle. They want to persuade people with psychosis to accept treatment without coercion as the state’s new CARE Courts roll out in October.
Before covid-19, hepatitis C held the distinction of claiming more American lives each year than any other infectious disease — that’s despite the marketing of several relatively affordable, highly effective treatments.
A sweeping agreement approved by state lawmakers would gradually raise the minimum wage for hundreds of thousands of health workers to a nation-leading $25 an hour. The pact would also end labor’s years-long battle with dialysis clinics.
The California Legislature greenlighted Gov. Gavin Newsom’s latest plan to build more housing and increase addiction treatment as part of his response to the state’s homelessness and drug crises.
With the rise of generative AI, people who once turned to “Dr. Google” to check on medical symptoms are now turning to chatbots. Researchers say the bots are often more accurate, but urge caution in the absence of any regulations.
Excessive heat contributed to 1,670 deaths nationwide last year, according to federal data — the highest rate in at least two decades. An increase in drug use and homelessness, along with hotter temperatures, were among the reasons.
Hollywood actors and writers who qualify for their union health plans get a very good deal compared with other Americans. But not working during the strike threatens their eligibility in the system.
Studies suggest official numbers vastly underestimate heat-related injuries and illness on the job. To institute protections, the government must calculate their cost — and the cost of inaction.
The medical dangers of heat are real. But people often ignore public heat alerts or don't realize how vulnerable they are. A new alert system prompts clinicians to talk about heat with patients.
As high school graduates prepare to leave states like California that protect abortion rights for historically Black colleges in states where abortion is banned, they're getting ready to safeguard their reproductive health during college.
Patient advocates have long alleged the Medical Board of California is ineffective at policing doctors. But a proposal to beef up its budget and overhaul procedures faces stiff resistance from the doctors’ lobby.
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