By the end of this year 1 in 4 Californians will be apart of Cal Index, which will electronically document their complete medical histories. Then, while Congress headed to summer vacation, California’s state government headed back to Sacramento, and back to work. Finally, niche observances have taken over the calendar, what are the best and worst of these “holidays”?
California’s imminent electronic medical records raise hope, privacy concerns
This system, called Cal Index, will electronically document the complete medical histories of nearly 1 in 4 Californians beginning by the end of the year thanks to a partnership between two of California’s largest insurers, Blue Shield and Anthem Blue Cross.
Cal Index would be the biggest health information network anywhere in the country and proponents of it say the access to real-time information will make for faster and better healthcare that will improve its quality and cost.
But some opponents worry about the potential for data breaches, like Anthem’s last year, which accidentally posted online Social Security or tax identification numbers for nearly 25,000 California doctors online. Moreover, some Californians, including victims of domestic violence or people suffering from rare diseases, just don’t like the idea of their medical information being that readily available.
There are also concerns about the nuts and bolts of a roll-out. For more than a decade, the California healthcare industry has been trying unsuccessfully to replace paper records with electronic ones. Advocates of the Index hope the difference this time will be the muscle from such major insurers.
Do you welcome the move to electronic records? Do you worry about the potential for a data breach? Or the potential liability for insurers or health care providers?
Guests:
David Feinberg, chief executive of UCLA Health System and the new chairman of Cal Index's board of directors
Pam Dixon, executive director of the the World Privacy Forum, a San Diego non-profit public interest research center focusing on areas of technology and privacy
Court rules: Home caregivers barred from suing for damages caused by Alzheimer patients
The California Supreme Court ruled Monday that home healthcare workers hired to assist Alzheimer's patients may not sue their employers for injuries inflicted by patients.
The 5-2 decision drafted by Justice Carole A. Corrigan, said that employers were not liable for caregivers if the employees were warned of the risks prior to employment and the injury was caused by symptoms of the disease.
The case was taken to the state Supreme Court after Carolyn Gregory filed a lawsuit against Bernard and Lorraine Cott after Lorraine, who suffered from Alzheimer’s, bumped into Gregory while she washed a knife, leaving her injuries that left pain and permanent numbness in some of Gregory’s fingers.
Do you feel the Supreme Court decision leaves homecare workers vulnerable in their patients’ homes? How can employers take preventive measures to ensure safety for their workers? We’ll also look at how other states around the country deal with the issue.
Guest:
John Nockleby, Professor of Law, Director, Civil Justice Program at Loyola Law School
Water, pot and rideshares: The top 5 bills to watch as CA lawmakers head back to Sacramento
While Congress headed to summer vacation, California’s state government headed back to Sacramento, and back to work, where its facing an onslaught of down-to-the wire bills in the month of August. Jeremy White joins AirTalk to round up some of the more important and interesting ones, including a bill to firm up details of a major water bond to put before voters this year and a tax break to curb runaway film production. The legislature will also take up another attempt at a bill that would require adult film actors to wear condoms, a bill to create a Bureau of Medical Marijuana Regulation to oversee the industry, and a bill that would enhance insurance criteria for ridesharing companies like Uber and Lyft. We’ll talk about the likelihood and possible outcomes of them all.
Guest:
Jeremy White, reporter in the Sacramento Bee’s Capitol Bureau
Lead researcher of Ebola serum explains treatment, trials
The two American aid workers infected with the Ebola virus have taken an experimental drug called Zmapp. The serum is a cocktail of antibodies conceived by a consortium of researchers and companies - public and private - funded by a $28 million grant from the National Institute of Health.
The drug had only been tested on animals, and was not ready for human trials. However, the growing outbreak in Western Africa spurred the Centers for Disease Control to compel the drug makers to use its small sample of doses on the ailing Dr. Kent Brantly and Nancy Writebol.
How is Zmapp made? Why aren't there more doses? What if it seems to help recovery of Brantly and Writebol? Will the drug be sent to African countries?
Guest:
Erica Ollmann Saphire, Ph.D., Lead researcher on NIH-funded consortium for Ebola treatment research; Professor, Department of Immunology & Microbial Science, The Scripps Research Institute (TSRI)
A year after Rim Fire, what should happen to all the dead trees?
A year after the devastating Rim Fire, environmentalist and the timber industry are at loggerheads about what to do with the charred, dead trees left in the wake of one of California’s biggest wildfires.
Environmentalists want to see things stay as they are. They say that new growth has sprouted amid the burnt remains of the forest, providing new habitats for birds and a dozen other species. Loggers, however, want to cut down and sell the trees. It creates jobs, first, and also helps speed up the forest’s regeneration. But time is running out, the timber industry warns, the trees will start deteriorate if they aren’t cut down soon.
The Rim Fire incinerated over 257,000 acres of land in the Central Sierra Nevada region. The blaze started in August of last year, and took two months to extinguish, becoming the third largest wildfire in the history of California and the largest in the Sierra Nevada. The cause was a hunter’s illegal campfire that went out of control.
Guests:
Chad Hanson, Director and staff forest ecologist of the John Muir project, an environmentalist group based in Big Bear City, Calif.
Steve Brink, Vice President of Public Resources of The California Forestry Association, which represents the timber industry
When every day is a ‘special’ occasion: the weirdest and most wonderful niche observances
You may be familiar with Talk Like A Pirate day or maybe you dutifully post a picture of your brother or sister on National Siblings Day, but did you know that every day is a micro-holiday?
Niche observances have taken over the calendar, encouraging people to buy pancakes on National Pancake Day, stop texting while driving during National Cell Phone Safety Month, or eat a prune breakfast during Eat A Prune Breakfast Month. These observances range from the bizarre (it’s National Underwear Day today) to the legitimate — Earth Day, Mothers Day, and National Secretary’s Day all got their start somewhere.
When time and celebrations are doled out democratically, how do we determine what’s worth celebrating? What are the best and worst of niche “holidays”? What’s legit and what’s just plain silly?
Guests:
Megan Garber, staff writer at The Atlantic
Jono Alderson, founder of daysoftheyear.com
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