Calming Dementia Patients Without Powerful Drugs
In California nursing homes, just over 15 percent of dementia patients are on antipsychotic drugs. That’s far more than advocates say is necessary. But that number is down from almost 22 percent just three years ago.
Asthma Sending More Kids To California ERs
California children are increasingly seeking care for asthma in emergency rooms – despite medical advances and millions of dollars spent to control symptoms statewide.
The Gray Areas Of Assisted Suicide
In bizarre, veiled conversations, some doctors vaguely hint to dying patients and their families how to hasten death. But overwhelmed families are left with profound questions and the feeling that there is no one who can answer them.
Learning A New Health Insurance System The Hard Way
A Sacramento couple struggled to take advantage of subsidized health care coverage through Covered California in 2014 – facing one glitch after another. This year, they are more savvy about navigating the system.
With Specialists In Short Supply, L.A. County Turns To e-Consulting
Facing a shortfall of doctors — and a dearth of money — L.A. County, Calif., is using a web-based system called eConsult that allows primary care doctors and specialists to exchange patient medical records before sending them for referral appointments.
How One Hospital Brought Its C-Sections Down In A Hurry
Faced with the possible loss of an important insurer, a large Orange County, Calif., hospital rapidly reduced excessive cesarean section rates in part by sharing each physician’s rate with everyone in the obstetrics department.
A Matter Of Faith And Trust: Why African-Americans Don’t Use Hospice
Even as end-of-life planning gains favor with more Americans, African-Americans, research shows, remain very skeptical of options like hospice and advance directives. The result can mean more aggressive, painful care at the end of life that prolongs suffering.
California High Court To Consider Limits on Regulators’ Access to Prescription Database
A Burbank doctor, with the support of the AMA, says the Medical Board of California violated his patients’ privacy by checking his prescribing practices in a state database without a court order. The board says it needs that access to protect patients from harm.
Americans Are Drinking More Heavily, Especially Women
The first study to track drinking patterns at the county level finds that women are driving big increases in heavy drinking.
When Depression And Cultural Expectations Collide
A teen from a Taiwanese immigrant family struggles with depression as her mother worries and tries to understand. Asian American families like this one often have trouble seeking and finding appropriate treatment.
Wynne Lee, 17, struggled with depression and cultural expectations for several years. The teen from Diamond Bar, California, is like many kids from Asian American families who often have trouble finding appropriate treatment.
So You Have Dense Breasts. Now What?
Dense breasts make mammograms harder to read. As more states pass laws requiring that women be told of the risks, debate is growing about whether such warnings are helpful — or even harmful.
Tougher Vaccine Exemption Bill In Calif. Clears First Hurdle
The state Senate health committee passed the bill after a debate that drew several hundred protesters to Sacramento.
Kairis Chiaji from Sacramento, California, says it was difficult to afford health insurance before the Affordable Care Act on her self-employed income as a birth coach. The 43-year-old experienced a mix up with her application through Covered California that delayed her enrollment.
Hoping To Live, These Doctors Want A Choice In How They Die
In a California lawsuit seeking to allow doctors to prescribe lethal medications at patients’ request, two plaintiffs are physicians with serious illnesses. Both want the option of choosing to end their lives.
Blue Shield of California Loses Its State Tax Exemption
The unheralded move by California tax authorities last August may leave the insurer on the hook for tens of millions of dollars in taxes dating back to 2013. Blue Shield of California is protesting the action.
PHOTOS: Shared Decision Making
Shared decision making programs encourage doctors and patients to work together in making tough choices about care at UC San Francisco.
Inviting Patients To Help Decide Their Own Treatment
At UC San Francisco and other hospitals and clinics around the nation, “shared decision making” programs encourage doctors and patients to work together in making tough choices about care.
Advocates Say California Counties Need To Shore Up Care For Remaining Uninsured
Report by Health Access California says 3 million uninsured in California have uneven access to care, depending on which county they live in.
Slightly More Latinos and African Americans Sign Up On California Exchange
About 37 percent of subsidized Covered California enrollees are Latino, up six points compared with last year, and about 4 percent are African American, up one point.
