Health Insider Eggs sold at Arizona Walmarts recalled for possible salmonella contamination abc15.com staff
A California company is recalling nearly 2 million dozens of eggs after possibly being contaminated with Salmonella. August Egg Company is recalling brown cage-free and brown certified organic eggs because of the possible contamination. Seventy-nine people across seven states have gotten sick with the same outbreak strain of Salmonella that has been linked to eggs. […]
Opinion | ‘The Real Risk Is a Bad Trip’: What We Heard This Week
“The real risk is a bad trip.” — Smita Das, MD, PhD, MPH, of Stanford University in California, on the risks of off-label ketamine use. “It is like trying to compare apples with artichokes.” — Douglas Smith, MD, of the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia, discussing earlier studies of Havana syndrome patients and current NIH […]
Penis-Pump Company Chided by FDA
The FDA has warned a California company about its inappropriate off-label claims regarding several sexual devices including a “MegaVac” penis pump, an “Ultimate” penis extender, and a “Clitoral Enhancement System.” The agency claimed that the firm Dr. Joel Kaplan, a sexual enhancement device manufacturer founded by a namesake psychologist, violated the law by marketing the […]
Nurse-to-Patient Staffing Ratios Win Some Hard-Fought Ground
For nearly 2 decades, only one state — California — governed the number of patients assigned to a hospital nurse. Recently, Oregon became the second. Advocates of nurse-to-patient ratios are hopeful other states will follow. The primary barrier? Hospitals. Hospital groups and some nurse executives say ratios are a one-size-fits-all response to a dynamic system. […]
Semaglutide medication may benefit 93 million U.S. adults
Researchers from the University of California, Irvine have just published a study that projects 93 million U.S. adults that are overweight and obese may be suitable for the 2.4 mg dosage of semaglutide, a weight loss medication known under the brand name Wegovy. They projected based on the known weight loss effects (15% average weight […]
Opinion | The Best Medicine for Healthcare Workers: A Living Wage
California has long been at the vanguard in addressing society’s most pressing issues. In the 1960’s, growing concern about the health impact of automobile emissions spurred passage of the Clean Air Act, which established national standards barring states from regulating vehicle emissions. But the bill had one notable exemption: California, which had already developed stricter […]
California’s Medical Misinformation Law Facing Legal Challenges
Late last month, a federal judge in California granted a preliminary injunction in a pair of related lawsuits filed in opposition to the state’s new medical misinformation law, which took effect January 1. The move temporarily blocks enforcement of the law for individual physicians who are plaintiffs in the suits as well as physicians who […]
Opinion | ‘It’s a Word Calculator on Steroids’: What We Heard This Week
“It’s a word calculator on steroids.” — Daniel Chow, MD, MBA, of the University of California Irvine, on large language models like ChatGPT being used to plagiarize scientific research. “It’s like gold. This is the reality. It’s crazy.” — Jody Dushay, MD, of Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston, on diabetes patients’ difficulty getting […]
California Bill Barring Docs From Telling COVID Lies Signed Into Law
California Governor Gavin Newsom signed legislation on Friday that gives the state some ammunition against physicians who spread lies about COVID in the context of direct patient care, although it won’t apply to those who spread such misinformation on social media. It is said to be the first such law in the nation. Such misinformation […]
Newsom Veto Deals Blow to Safe Injection Sites
Last week, California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) vetoed a bill that would have permitted the state to launch a pilot program to open supervised injection facilities in California’s largest cities. Sometimes called SIFs, safe consumption sites, or overdose prevention centers, these are spaces where people can legally consume or inject pre-obtained illicit drugs under supervision […]