San Diego news from inewsource Journalism for the common good
A San Diego woman says she was put at risk of hospitalization last year after receiving a series of insulin infusions at Dr. James Novak’s Trina Health clinic in Pacific Beach. Read More »
Health
Hustling Hope: Big name in medicine touted Trina diabetes treatment before founder’s indictment
Sacramento lawyer G. Ford Gilbert, the recently indicted founder of the national diabetes network Trina Health, hitched his clinic’s expansion plans to a big national name in organized medicine and health policy: Dr. Jack Lewin. Lewin was CEO of the California Medical Association for more than 11 years, CEO of the American College of Cardiology for more than five years ... Read More »
Hustling Hope: Montana couple sinks life savings into ‘miracle’ diabetes treatment
Ron Briggs used to call himself a “good cash cow for the medical industry.” That’s because every few weeks, an ambulance would rush across the rugged, cowboy town of Dillon, Montana, sirens blaring, to revive him from a diabetic coma. He and his wife, Julie, a strong and mothering woman where Ron is concerned, get choked up when they talk ... Read More »
Hustling Hope: San Diego doctor runs controversial diabetes clinic
Just about every Tuesday morning around 7:30, John McCreary of Poway can be found waiting for Dr. James Novak’s office to open. Almost always, McCreary said, he’s the first one there. Novak’s practice is listed as the only one in the San Diego area offering Trina Health’s “Artificial Pancreas Treatment,” a four-hour IV insulin infusion procedure for people with diabetes. ... Read More »
Hustling Hope: Doctors debunk diabetes treatment as fraud charges hit clinic executive
Just imagine: A nonsurgical treatment that helps millions of people with complications from diabetes restore vision, repair damaged kidneys, and reverse heart disease and cognitive decline. A treatment that heals wounds in their legs and feet, repairs damage from stroke, and eliminates a common type of diabetic nerve pain called neuropathy. That’s what lawyer G. Ford Gilbert and his network of ... Read More »
Medical examiner: Homeless deaths on the rise in San Diego County
Volunteers were out early Friday canvassing the streets, canyons and riverbanks as part of San Diego County’s annual homeless count. But one stat is already known: The number of homeless people dying in the county increased significantly in 2017, according to the Medical Examiner’s Office. Last year, the office recorded 126 homeless deaths — up 17 percent over the 108 ... Read More »
Research uses music to reach people with traumatic brain injuries
Steven Nelson had decided he wanted to be a nurse. He had spent his teens in trouble and his early 20s in prison. Finally, in his mid-30s, with a steady job as a receptionist in an urgent care and five kids to support, he believed he had found his calling. “He tried to get his life together,” said Gloria Hawkins, ... Read More »
Problems with Hospice Compare website delay release of new data
Quality of care in the nation’s hospices came under the spotlight in August when the agency that runs Medicare rated some 3,800 facilities nationally, including about two dozen in San Diego County, on seven measures. Now, the same federal agency that published the online scorecard, Hospice Compare, is getting attention because its website has flaws, and that has delayed the ... Read More »
National experts and state lawmaker react to diabetes amputation increase
A state legislator who is leading an inquiry into the escalating rates of diabetes and heart disease highlighted inewsource data. Read More »
Diabetes-related amputations: How we crunched the data
To identify the increase in diabetes-related amputations in California, inewsource analyzed data from the California Office of Statewide Health Planning and Development, the agency that collects information about the care provided to patients discharged from California hospitals. The data, compiled at the request of inewsource, includes more than 100 separate billing codes, by body part and procedure, detailing patients treated ... Read More »