Children love pulling fresh carrots out of the garden or picking berries off a bush. It’s fun to eat food they have grown themselves. The Imperial County Childhood Obesity Project is funding community and school gardens in hopes that kids who enjoy gardening will eat more fruits and vegetables, and ultimately slim down.
Access
Beginning Jan. 1, all individual Covered California health plans will include dental coverage for children in the family 18 and younger, a move that state officials hope will result in tens of thousands of kids getting oral health care.
Patients who are uninsured or receiving Medicaid benefits were able to see doctors faster and for less money at Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHC) than in private primary care practices, according to a new study by researchers at the University Of Pennsylvania.
The teen boys in the San Joaquin County Juvenile Detention Center had a lot of questions for the two sex education instructors who paid them a visit. Among them: Where are free local clinics that provide testing for sexually transmitted diseases? Is there a cure for AIDS? Can you use ear wax to find out if your partner has an STD?
Dr. Milcah Larks is all too familiar with the cost of delaying preventative cancer screenings for women. As an oncologist in the Immunology Clinic at Ventura County Medical Center, a hospital in Ventura focused on underserved populations, she prescribes treatment for patients with breast and cervical cancer.
Carlos Gutierrez of Berkeley thought his health care troubles were over when he received a letter from his county’s social service agency in May telling him he qualified for Medi-Cal. The 34-year-old single father of two had been without health insurance for months after losing his job as a trainer in car rental sales. He’d applied for health coverage through Covered California — the state’s health insurance exchange — and when the letter about Medi-Cal arrived he felt relieved.
Researchers at the University of Michigan have found that some people, particularly those with poor number and health literacy skills, may not be able to understand the numbers on lab reports, or what steps may be needed as a result of the test results.
Patients across California now have easier access to their medication lists, lab results, upcoming appointments and messaging through secure online systems. But one key aspect of the medical record is not typically available online: the candid notes a physician writes about you during and after an appointment.
Bay Area resident Mark Bloomquist, 33, hadn’t had a relationship with a primary care physician in more than a decade. Waiting on hold to make appointments and juggling callbacks for physician advice or lab results seemed like too much hassle. When Bloomquist needed medical care – which he often did as an avid lacrosse player – he went to urgent care.
The days of waiting on hold and playing phone tag with the doctor’s office are diminishing for patients across the state and nation as more and more health providers implement patient portals.