Barbara Boxer – United States Senator – Introduce the Genetically Engineered Food Right-to-Know Act

http://boxer.enews.senate.gov

Firms Design Algorithms To Combat Misuse of Prescription Drugs

More firms are developing data-driven algorithms to combat prescription drug misuse, the Wall Street Journal reports.

The algorithm is based on a 30-question survey that, among other questions, asks about injured workers’…

http://www.ihealthbeat.org

5 Recent Orthopedic Device & Procedure Launches

Sonoma Orthopedic Products, based in Santa Rosa, Calif., has launched a new minimally invasive procedure using its Sonoma CRx clavicle nail. The Velox procedure enables orthopedic physicians to heal collar bone, arm and wrist fractures that would normally call for surgery.

http://beckersspine.com

Calif. Health Exchange Delays Action on Model Health Plan Contract

At the meeting, health insurers expressed concern about collecting sensitive data on enrollees that health plans currently are not required to obtain.

http://www.californiahealthline.org

Survey: Fewer Calif. Firms Offer Health Insurance to Workers

The proportion of California employers that offer health insurance to workers declined significantly in the previous decade, according to a new survey by the California HealthCare Foundation, the Sacramento Bee’s “Capitol Alert” reports.

http://www.californiahealthline.org

Take Action to Close the Walmart Loophole!

It’s time to stop rewarding low pay and lousy benefits!

Walmart has been doing it for years: instead of focusing on providing decent pay and benefits for thousands of employees in California, they look for a way to offload those costs to taxpayers. Thanks to their practice of pushing employees on to Medi-Cal, Walmart workers’ reliance on public health care programs already costs taxpayers tens of millions of dollars annually.

http://act.aflcio.org

Specialists Embracing Video Games To Treat Chronic Pain Conditions

http://www.ihealthbeat.org

Caregivers Tap Mobile Apps, Online Tools To Manage Patient Care

Online Searches Provide Insight on Link Between Seasons, Mental Health

Internet search data can provide insight into the correlation between seasons and mental health conditions, according to a study published in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine, MedPage Today’s “The Gupta Guide” reports (Petrochko, “The Gupta Guide,” MedPage Today, 4/12).

http://www.ihealthbeat.org

Study: Chicken, Ground Beef Are Riskiest Meats

An analysis of more than 33,000 cases of foodborne illness shows that ground beef and chicken have caused more hospitalizations than other meats.

http://www.claimsjournal.com

Four Things You Should Know About Carpal Tunnel Syndrome

http://workers-compensation.blogspot.com

Where Have All The Lawyers Gone?

No where is it more evident than in workers’ compensation law, that the lawyers and their practices to assist injured workers, are disappearing. Workers are finding it difficult to obtain legal representation.

http://workers-compensation.blogspot.com

California Democrats push voting laws that could broaden their reach

Fresh off their 2012 wins at the polls, California Democrats are looking to broaden their reach by advancing a new batch of bills aimed at expanding voter access and increasing turnout.

California Workers’ Comp Case Roundup (3/8/2013)

Appellate Court Compensation Cases

Temporary Disability—104-Week Limit—Salary in Lieu of Benefits—Court of Appeal, annulling WCAB decision that Labor Code § 4850 salary continuation benefits did not count toward 104-week limit on payments for injury causing temporary disability under Labor Code § 4656(c)(2), held that salary continuation benefits paid to injured public safety officer counted toward 104-week limit on temporary disability payments, when Court of Appeal found that…

http://www.lexisnexis.com

Be aware of phone scammers posing as SCE employees

Winter months along with warmer months mean increased energy usage and that’s when phone swindlers seem to come out of the woodwork and wreak havoc on unsuspecting utility customers.

http://www.swrnn.com

Submit your questions

& have them answered during an Online Town Hall with Sen. Ted Lieu & Legislative Analyst Mac -

http://sd28.senate.ca.gov

California lawmakers target prescription drug abuse

There has already been a fair amount of attention in Sacramento to prescription drug abuse — earlier this year, grieving parents testified that the California Medical Board hasn’t done enough to crack down on unscrupulous doctors who over-prescribe. Today the Legislature is taking up bills to deal with the issue.

http://view.exacttarget.com

CA State Fund Releases 2012 Annual Report

San Francisco, CA – State Fund’s Annual Report for 2012 was recently released online. The report shows a significant increase in net income for California’s largest workers’ comp insurer. For 2012, State Fund’s income before dividends totaled $458 million, which was $279 million more than the prior year.

http://www.workcompwire.com

San Francisco Cable Car Accidents Costs Millions

Cable cars average about an accident a month and routinely rank among the most accident-prone mass transportation modes in the country per vehicle mile traveled annually, according to the U.S. Department of Transportation. Over the last 10 years, city officials have reported 126 accidents injuring 151 people.

http://www.insurancejournal.com

Nevada Sends Hundreds of Mentally Ill Patients to California, Other States
According to the Bee‘s review of bus receipts kept by the Nevada Division of Mental Health and Developmental Services, the number of patients with mental illnesses sent by Rawson-Neal Psychiatric Hospital in Las Vegas to other cities via Greyhound bus increased by 66% from 2009 to 2012.
http://www.californiahealthline.org

RTA bus driver pleads guilty to fraud charges

A former Riverside Transit Authority worker pleaded has pleaded guilty to worker’s comp fraud charges.

http://blog.pe.com

Hesperia business owner charged for not carrying state insurance

The man who owns Tile Gallery Plus in Hesperia was arrested by San Bernardino County District Attorney investigators for not carrying state required Workers Compensation insurance.

http://www.sbsun.com

63% of Drivers Don’t Know They Pay Higher Rates to Subsidize Bad Drivers

Progressive Insurance recently surveyed 500 consumers about their knowledge of auto insurance pricing and found 63 percent of respondents didn’t know that the bad driving of others affected their car insurance rates.

http://www.claimsjournal.com

California Federation of Teachers lobbies lawmakers

It’s lobby day for the California Federation of Teachers , which means members of the state’s second-biggest teachers union (after the California Teachers Association) are in Sacramento to petition lawmakers.

http://view.exacttarget.com

California lawmakers and workers compensation regulators want to curb prescription opioid abuse, and they are turning to Washington state for inspiration in the fight against narcotic addiction and deaths.

http://viaw.org/blog/

Counterfeit Workers’ Comp Insurance Leave Injured Workers Without Benefits

The California Department of Insurance (CDI) arrested Robinson Yang, 44, Roland Yang, 43, and Sotheany “Teny” Hul, 42, of Diamond Bar on multiple counts of theft, fraud and forgery. The three suspects are accused of producing and selling hundreds of false certificates of insurance for workers’ compensation insurance. All three were booked between March 22 and April 3, 2013 and are being held pending bail hearings.

http://www.claimsjournal.com

However you must keep in mind that not all diagnostic testing is warranted. Below we point out some surprising statistics…

http://www.workerscompensation.com

Calif. Programs Seek To Improve Diabetes Rates, Disease Management

State and local health officials are working to curb rates of diabetes and help patients better manage the disease through various programs across California, HealthyCal reports.

http://www.californiahealthline.org

http://www.californiahealthline.org

California’s 4 A.M. Last Call Bill Already Fuels Debate

The last call for alcohol is 2 a.m. in California, but one lawmaker believes that’s just too early to set down the shot glasses and beer steins.

http://www.insurancejournal.com

Join us in wishing Dolores Huerta a happy 83rd birthday

http://action.ufw.org

Workers’ Comp Reform Could Boost Primary Care Costs

An overhaul of California’s workers’ compensation system could lead to higher costs for primary care services and lower costs for specialty health care services, according to a report from the Workers Compensation Research Institute, the Sacramento Business Journal reports (Johnson, Sacramento Business Journal, 4/8).

http://www.californiahealthline.org

What Does the Future Hold for Hospitals and Healthcare Providers? 6 Observations & Concerns

Hospitals and health systems today are confronted by a number of challenges that could ultimately impact how they deliver care. From reduced reimbursement to increased government scrutiny and anticipated provider shortages, we anticipate the future forecast for these providers will be a cloudy one. Here are six observations on the current climate surrounding hospitals and health systems.

http://www.beckershospitalreview.com

If you live in Southern California, then you know that busy freeways mean you have to be prepared for anything – at any time.

http://www.swrnn.com

LOS ANGELES (KABC) – A California court has ruled that using a smartphone to check a map feature violates the state’s distracted-driving law

http://abclocal.go.com

Trucker Wins Case for Refusing to Drive, Another Convicted of Workers’ Comp Fraud

A trucker who refused to drive a truck he believed was unsafe is getting his job back in addition to lost pay, while another has been order to pay money back and has been sentenced to jail in a workers’ compensation fraud case.

http://www.truckinginfo.com

US: Former Kansas City Chiefs Pro Football Players Must Pursue Workers’ Compensation Relief in Missouri, Not California

The players contended that dominant California public policy did not allow an employee to waive an employee’s right to seek workers’ compensation benefits before the state’s WCAB and that the the choice-of-law and/or choice-of-forum provision in the CBA requiring the players to pursue workers’ compensation claims in Missouri effectively operated as a waiver of the right to pursue workers’ compensation benefits in California for on-the-job injuries sustained in California, and therefore impinged on California’s interest in regulating workers’ compensation within its borders.

http://www.lexisnexis.com

How Californians die: State mortality rates by county

Californians appear to be getting healthier in many respects, with drops in deaths attributable to cancer and many other major illnesses, as well as homicide and auto accidents, a new statistical report from the state Department of Public Health indicates.

http://www.sacbee.com

California Regulatory Changes Expected To Affect Workers’ Comp Costs

The 2012 workers’ compensation regulatory changes in California are expected to affect both the prices and utilization of medical care to injured workers by most types of providers, says a new study by the Workers Compensation Research Institute (WCRI).

http://www.claimsjournal.com

Workers’ Compensation in California: A Guidebook for Injured Workers

The Department of Industrial Relations is pleased to release the fourth edition of “Workers’ Compensation in California: A Guidebook for Injured Workers,” March 2013, now available in English. The Spanish version of the guidebook will be available soon.

http://www.dir.ca.gov

California Official Says Toyota to Pay $16M Settlement

The suit was one of a flood of cases brought against the automaker after more than 14 million vehicles were recalled in 2009 and 2010 – many of them still waiting to be heard or settled.

http://www.claimsjournal.com

13 Spine Devices Receive FDA 510(k) Clearance in March Featured

http://beckersspine.com

Counterfeit Workers’ Compensation Insurance Leave Injured Workers Without Benefits

Los Angeles, CA (WorkersCompensation.com) – The California Department of Insurance (CDI) arrested Robinson Yang, 44, Roland Yang, 43, and Sotheany “Teny” Hul, 42, of Diamond Bar on multiple counts of theft, fraud and forgery. The three suspects are accused of producing and selling hundreds of false certificates of insurance for workers’ compensation insurance. All three were booked between March 22 and April 3, 2013 and are being held pending bail hearings.

http://www.workerscompensation.com

Expert offers tips to alleviate, avoid muscle cramps

SANTA MONICA, Calif. (KABC) – Everyone gets muscle cramps. Some people get them more often than others. It can happen when you work out, when you’re walking, even when you’re asleep. But there are things you may do that actually make it worse. Here’s what to do, and what not to do, to cure those muscle cramps.

http://abclocal.go.com

Panic alarms may be installed in California schools

LOS ANGELES (KABC) – A California bill that would require panic alarms to be installed inside schools across the state got preliminary approval on Wednesday.

http://abclocal.go.com

Reports of Hospital Reports of Hospital Mistakes Now Available Online

At St. Charles Medical Center in Bend, employees failed to notice that a cleaning machine was accidentally reprogrammed to leave out the disinfection cycle. Eighteen patients received colonoscopies with scopes that had been only rinsed with water and alcohol.

http://www.claimsjournal.com

Dr. Michael Lacroix: Chronic Pain: Never Surrender!

Chronic pain torments those afflicted and those who cover the expense. An estimated 70 to 120 million Americans suffer with chronic pain. The Institute of Medicine reports associated costs up to $635 billion a year in medical treatment and lost productivity…more than coronary heart disease, stroke, and diabetes and cancer combined1.

http://www.workcompwire.com

Ruth Estrich: Musculoskeletal Injuries and Psychosocial Considerations – Why Should Anyone Care?

Musculoskeletal injuries include any injury that occurs to a skeletal muscle, tendon, ligament, or joint.

http://www.workcompwire.com

Emil J. Bravo: Nurse Triage, for Workers’ Comp Injuries, Who Knew?

Nurse triage services have been existence for more than 30 years designed to help individuals decide whether or not they need medical attention, in other words: “Should I stay or should I go?” This same service is having a positive impact in the Workers’ Comp industry.

http://www.workcompwire.com

Billboards Warn Against Workers’ Comp Fraud

A public awareness campaign aimed at curbing workers’ compensation fraud will feature 65 billboards and transit shelter posters placed across San Diego County, the District Attorney’s Office announced today. November 8, 2012 (a reminder)

http://www.countynewscenter.com

Pre-Existing Medical Conditions and Workers’ Comp Claims

If you have been injured at work or in the course of your employment, having a pre-existing illness can complicate your workers’ comp claim. A condition that pre-dates your industrial injury may have an impact on the workers’ comp benefits you receive.

http://www.disabilitysecrets.com