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It’s been a long goodbye for San Diego Hospice, an institution that helped people die with dignity and without pain. Read More »
Tag Archives: doctors
Doctors debate danger of popular diabetes drug after FDA amputation warning
Some doctors are taking their patients with diabetes off of Invokana because of black box warning about higher risk of toe, foot, ankle and leg amputations. Read More »
New Medicare website measures quality of hospice care
For the first time, Medicare officials have posted online quality scores for some 3,800 hospice providers — including about two dozen in San Diego County. The scores are on a website launched Wednesday called Hospice Compare. And most San Diego hospices did well on most measures compared with national averages. Kate Goodrich of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services ... Read More »
California’s ambitious single-payer plan isn’t dead — yet
Despite rumors of its death, the Healthy California Act, a bill that would create a massive single-payer insurance system for nearly all 39 million Golden State residents, is alive and, in the eyes of its supporters, imperative. Read More »
Doctor who helped shape Obamacare warns of drop in quality of care if law is scrapped
Lost on the American public, and even many physicians and lawmakers, is the fact that the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act is about much more than helping people get medical insurance. That’s only part of the law. More than half its 900 pages created more than 100 regulations designed to improve outcomes, so patients get the right care, get ... Read More »
When hospitals post doctor ratings, who benefits?
Scripps Health is so far the only San Diego County health system that uses patient reviews to provide online ratings of some of its doctors. They’re supposed to help patients pick physicians, but some suggest the ratings are a marketing ploy. Read More »
Question: Where are San Diego County’s five-star hospitals? Answer: There aren’t any
It’s a rare patient who enjoys a stay in a hospital. But when the noise prevents you from sleeping, the bathroom is dirty, your pain isn’t controlled, the nurses and doctors confuse you … Any of that can make a sick person feel even worse. That’s why the Affordable Care Act mandated that patients get a chance to score hospitals ... Read More »
Sharp Grossmont drug surveillance captured videos of female patients undergoing surgery
Sharp Grossmont Hospital's video surveillance to track missing anesthesia drugs also captured images of many women in surgery. Read More »
San Diego doctors win long campaign for higher Medicare pay
San Diego area doctors seldom complain to their patients about low Medicare pay. But for two long decades, many have complained bitterly to each other. That’s because an old and complex federal formula reimburses physicians here as if they were practicing in “rural” areas, and assumes their costs of rent and staff are low, resembling those in Fresno or El ... Read More »