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As seasonal rains promote the growth of wild mushrooms, California Department of Public Health Director and State Public Health Officer Dr. Karen Smith is again reminding people that eating wild mushrooms can cause serious illness and even death.
"Telling the difference between wild mushrooms that are safe and those that are poisonous can be difficult for many people,” said Dr. Smith. “Wild mushrooms should not be eaten unless they have been examined by a mushroom expert and determined to be edible.”
The most serious illnesses and deaths have been linked primarily to wild mushrooms known to cause liver damage, including Amanita phalloides (shown above at left), also known as the “death cap” and Amanita ocreata (shown below at left), or “destroying angel.”
A bloom of Amanita phalloides last winter resulted in 14 mushroom poisonings in California that required hospitalization. Three of these cases required a liver transplant.
According to the California Poison Control System (CPCS), 1,038 cases of poisonous mushroom ingestion were reported throughout the state from Nov. 2016 to Jan. 15, 2018.
Among those cases:
– 16 suffered a major health outcome, such as liver failure leading to coma and/or a liver transplant, or kidney failure requiring dialysis;
– 51 suffered a moderate health outcome, such as dehydration due to vomiting and diarrhea, or injury to the liver or kidney;
– 433 were children younger than six years of age. Usually, the children ate a small amount of a mushroom growing in yards or neighborhood parks;
– 522 were treated at a health care facility;
– 16 were admitted to an intensive care unit.
Eating poisonous mushrooms can cause abdominal pain, cramping, vomiting, diarrhea, liver damage or death. Anyone who develops symptoms after eating wild mushrooms should seek immediate medical attention.
People who develop these symptoms, or their treating health care providers, should immediately contact CPCS at 800-222-1222.
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“This legislation is another step toward modernizing Medicare and making it work better for patients,” said Rep. Thompson. “By standardizing the way electronic prior authorization systems operate under Medicare – ultimately mitigating delays for seniors needing prescriptions-- we can greatly improve efficiency and patient experience. I’m proud to sponsor this bipartisan bill and I’ll continue to work to help bring Medicare into the 21st century.”
“I joined a bipartisan group of my House colleagues in introducing legislation that will improve access to prescription medication for Medicare beneficiaries. This bill would improve the outdated and inefficient prior authorization (PA) process and allow patients to obtain needed prescription drugs without unnecessary delay,” said Rep. Johnson. “There are currently a number of medications that require a prescriber to obtain approval from an insurance plan before dispensing. The process often requires prescribers to make lengthy phone calls or use a fax machine to obtain PA, which causes unneeded delays for patients waiting for their important prescriptions. In the commercial market, a process known as electronic prior authorization is widely used, allowing prescribers to request, and insurers to grant, PA in a fraction of the time. However, for unknown reasons, Medicare has been too slow to adopt this technology.”
Johnson added, “The legislation I co-sponsored encourages Medicare to use this technology, which will help reduce abandoned prescriptions left at the pharmacy, increase efficiencies in the appeals process by reducing claims, and ensure Medicare enrollees get the right treatment at the proper cost share. Many residents of Eastern and Southeastern Ohio are dependent on the Medicare program, and anything that helps them get their needed medication more efficiently is beneficial.”
“Too often the prescription authorization process for those enrolled in Medicare is lengthy, confusing and frustrating,” said Rep. Lujan. “The purpose of our bill is to streamline the process, eliminate frustrating delays and allow seniors to get the prescriptions they need with a minimum of fuss,” said Lujan. “By standardizing the electronic prior authorization system, our legislation makes Medicare easier for seniors. That’s good for patients and ultimately good for ensuring the Medicare system operates as cost efficiently and effectively as possible.”
“With a large portion of the commercial market effectively using electronic prior authorization (ePA), and a number of states that have standards in place, this legislation is an essential step forward towards standardizing ePA in the Medicare program, the largest payer in the nation,” said Rep. Schweikert. “Standardizing ePA will improve efficiencies in Medicare and ensure safe prescribing for patients. Individuals will no longer be turned away from the pharmacy counter and can begin their doctor-prescribed therapies without delay.”
A number of medications require approval by a health insurance plan prior to dispensing in order for the plan to cover the medication, a process known as prior authorization (PA). Should a PA not be obtained prior to dispensing, the patient is faced with the choice of waiting for a PA or paying for the medication out-of-pocket.
The traditional PA process uses outdated modes of communication which can be burdensome for the provider and pharmacist and often causes undue delays for the patient. Electronic Prior Authorization (ePA), which has seen widespread and successful adoption in the commercial market, automates the process by streamlining communication among providers, payors and pharmacies.
This bill would encourage the use of ePA by creating system standards under Medicare, thereby promoting adoption by Medicare providers and bringing appropriate treatments to seniors faster.
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The free, hour-long group classes are offered Tuesday afternoons from Feb. 13 to March 13 at 4 p.m.
The classes are offered through the medical office’s Live Well Program, though participants do not need to be patients to attend.
The class is facilitated by Emily Garner, PsyD, a psychologist practicing at the medical office.
Each of the five, one-hour sessions focuses on a different topic related to restoring quality rest and developing healthy sleep habits.
Participants may attend one class or the entire series:
– Feb. 13: Sleep education.
– Feb. 20: Sleep medications and scheduling.
– February 27: “Make” your bed.
– March 6: Relaxation response.
– March 13: Sleep hygiene.
“Sleep is one of our basic needs,” explained Garner, “yet 60 percent of adults report they have insomnia at least twice a week and thirty percent have chronic insomnia. By this measure, it’s becoming our new normal.”
The American Association of Sleep Medicine reports that three in 10 working adults in the United States sleep six hours or less each 24 hour period. Sleeping six or less hours per night increases obesity risk by 21 percent, stroke risk by 22 percent, diabetes risk by 25 percent and risk of coronary heart disease by 35 percent.
The Sleep Better Education Sessions provide important information and helpful tips for those who have trouble falling asleep or staying asleep. The group also provides helpful support.
“Struggling with insomnia can be isolating, especially when we stay sedentary at home to try to catch up on rest," said Garner. "Being in a group reminds us that we’re not alone while we work on the problem together."
Interested individuals can RSVP for the Sleep Better Education Sessions by calling the Live Well Program at 707-995-4589.
The Adventist Health Clear Lake Medical Office – Clearlake is located at 15230 Lakeshore Drive in Clearlake.
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The agency announced the achievement awards to hospitals on behalf of Smart Care California, a coalition of public and private health care purchasers that collectively purchase or manage care for more than 16 million people statewide – or 40 percent of all Californians. View the complete list of hospitals.
The list included Adventist Health Clear Lake in Clearlake and Sutter Lakeside Hospital in Lakeport.
Research finds that after two decades of annual increases, there has been progress in reducing the state’s low-risk first birth C-section rate.
The 111 hospitals that made the Smart Care C-Section Honor Roll account for 45 percent of the 242 hospitals that offer maternity services in California.
“The decline in California’s rate for low-risk, first birth C-sections will lead to healthier babies and mothers,” said CHHS Secretary Diana Dooley. “Thanks to the hospitals and their staff for their hard work in achieving this measurable progress.”
To respond to a rapid rise in unnecessary C-sections across the United States, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services adopted the Healthy People 2020 target of reducing nationwide C-section rates for low-risk, first-births to 23.9 percent. In October 2015, Smart Care California began its focus on this issue as well.
“It’s encouraging that so many hospitals are making great progress to reduce their unnecessary cesarean deliveries, especially well in advance of the Healthy People 2020 target,” said Julie Morath, President and CEO of the Hospital Quality Institute.
While life-saving in some circumstances, unnecessary C-sections can pose serious risks to mothers – higher rates of hemorrhage, transfusions, infection and blood clots—and babies – higher rates of infection, respiratory complications and neonatal intensive care unit stays.
Evidence suggests that a woman’s chance of having a C-section largely depends on where she delivers and the practice pattern of her physician and clinical team. Even for low-risk, first-birth pregnancies, huge variation exists in hospital C-section rates. Rates in California hospitals range from less than 15 percent to more than 60 percent. Experts find that variation of this magnitude is a signal of a problem that needs to be addressed.
“The large list of Smart Care honorees show that hospitals can improve, and improve quickly,” said Lance Lang, M.D., Chief Medical Officer for Covered California and a Co-Chair of Smart Care California. “Every type of hospital in every part of California can and should hit the 23.9 percent target.”
A look at the list of honorees finds that many hospitals are sustaining efforts to reduce the low-risk, first birth C-section rate, also known as Nulliparous, Term, Singleton, Vertex (NTSV). Nearly 80 percent of hospitals, or 86 out of the 111 honorees, achieved Smart Care Honor Roll status two years in a row, based on 2015 and 2016 hospital discharge data. The inaugural Smart Care California Hospital Honor Roll was announced in October 2016.
“We applaud the hospitals that have hit the 23.9 percent target two years in a row,” said Elliott Main, M.D., who leads the California Maternity Care Quality Collaborative (CMQCC), a multi-stakeholder organization committed to ending preventable morbidity, mortality and racial disparities in California maternity care. “Sustainability is hard, but these hospitals have shown it can be done. It involves a commitment from leadership and the engagement of the entire team of nurses and doctors.”
According to Dr. Main, steps hospitals can take to lower their low-risk, first birth C-section rate include participating in the CMQCC Vaginal Birth Collaborative and submitting data to the Maternal Data Center to get timely data for quality and performance improvement.
2017 Hospital Award Winners Final by LakeCoNews on Scribd