Although thousands of Cuban doctors have defected over the years and others are planning to do the same, more than 72,000 remain on the island and scattered all over the world, and more are in the pipeline. Despite the increasing risks of defection—since 2006 the United States has made it easier than ever for Cuban doctors to abandon their posts by offering them U.S. visas from consulates wherever they defect—Cuba seems to be relying more than ever on its vast health industry for income.
California healthcare regulators have fined four San Diego-area hospitals $25,000 each for preventable mistakes that led to the death of one patient. Five more reports of similar incidents at San Diego-area hospitals are under review and could lead to additional fines, according to a spokesman for the state Department of Public Health. The reports are part of a statewide review of reported incidents. Forty California hospitals have been fined since July 2007.
At Banner Page Hospital in northern Arizona, traditional Navajo healing is merging with modern medicine. The hospital's Native American Cultural Committee is working toward an inclusive medical community by tackling the cultural sensitivities of the Navajo people, many of whom are wary of modern medicine. The 25-bed, Page, AZ-based facility serves a population of about 20,000 drawn from a 50-mile radius. About 50% of patients come from the nearby Navajo reservation.
It has been a year since the closure of emergency and inpatient services at Martin Luther King Jr.-Harbor Hospital in Los Angeles, and L.A. county officials have acknowledged that they remain far from fulfilling their promise of restoring it to full operation. The University of California has so far been unable to overcome significant obstacles to accepting management of the South Los Angeles facility. The financing, governance and role of labor unions remain unresolved, and officials on both sides said they did not expect to know until the end of the year if a deal could be struck.
One in three Texas foster children has been diagnosed with mental illness and prescribed mind-altering drugs, including some that the federal government has not approved for juveniles, state records show. Many of these drugs are prescribed by doctors who have a financial stake in pharmaceutical companies' success, according to an investigation. Dozens of physicians who treat children in state custody supplement their salaries with tens of thousands of dollars in consulting and speakers' fees, and they use drug company grants to fund research projects.
Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield, New Jersey's largest health insurer, has filed to become a publicly held for-profit company. The move could bring the state a $1 billion windfall for healthcare, but it comes with concerns about how the change could impact consumers. Horizon representatives said converting to a for-profit company would help raise capital and allow competition with other insurers. The value of the insurer on the open market, which is estimated to be at least $1 billion, would go to a charitable foundation that, under current state law, would aim to provide healthcare for the needy. Horizon covers 3.6 million people, roughly four out of every 10 New Jerseyans.