News

The Coronavirus Outbreak Could Finally Make Telemedicine Mainstream in the U.S.

As of March 3, more than 92,000 people worldwide have been sickened by the virus that causes COVID-19, including more than 100 in the U.S. As both numbers trend upward, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has warned that increased person-to-person spread in U.S. communities is...

Bay Area doctors are educating the public and becoming social media stars

Word that the Bay Area may be flattening the coronavirus curve swept across the nation this week thanks in part to a few UCSF physicians who’ve become social media stars of sorts, taking to Twitter to help educate the public about the frightening and evolving outbreak while adding commentary and a...

In California’s battle against the coronavirus, we have a new class of superheroes

Our savvy governor is preparing for a worst-case scenario, which means not only adding a potential 50,000 patient beds to existing care capacity, but also boosting the number of health care professionals who can assist and treat the escalating number of patients. Even with the

What the evidence says about Medicare for All and other single-payer healthcare plans

Single-payer health care — in which the government pays citizens’ medical bills — is a divisive issue this campaign season. Such a system is, in the popular mind, more or less synonymous with socialism, but the idea has been around since health insurance went mainstream during World War II.

California’s Psychiatry Workforce Challenges

Author(s): Janet Coffman Date: Mar. 02, 2020 In his 2020 State of the State address, California Governor Gavin Newsome called for the state’s counties to spend Mental Health Services Act funds more quickly to assist the 1 in 6 California adults who suffer from mental illness and the 1 in 13...

Nursing Students Call for Emergency Licenses

"Hospitals have essentially just kicked out all nursing students," she said. "They don’t want to risk exposing us. It makes sense. But at the same time, I need to finish those hours so I can graduate on time." Some educators say nursing students near the end of their programs should be offered...

Joanne Spetz awarded OptumLab access to data

 Congratulations to Joanne Spetz on her OptumLabs award! Joanne will receive OptumLabs-funded access to its database of de-identified, linked clinical and administrative claims information (the OptumLabs Data Warehouse) to look at state regulation of advanced practice clinicians and utilization of...

Naomi Bardach appointed Vice Chair for Health Services Research in Pediatrics

Congratulations to Naomi Bardach on her appointment to the role of Vice Chair for Health Services Research in Pediatrics! In this role, she will lead the pediatrics efforts to develop a world-class program in child health services research, create more visibility and structure around current...

Single-Payer Systems Likely to Save Money in US, Analysis Finds

A single-payer healthcare system would save money over time, likely even during the first year of operation, according to nearly two dozen analyses of national and statewide single payer proposals made over the past 30 years. The study, published in PLOS Medicine, comes as California Gov.

Gabby Schmajuk, MD, New Chief of Rheumatology at San Francisco VA

We are delighted to announce that Gabby Schmajuk, MD, MS has accepted the position of Chief of Rheumatology at the San Francisco VA Health Care System. Dr. Schmajuk is Associate Professor of Medicine at UCSF and a member of the SFVAHCS Rheumatology section, and a core faculty member of the Philip R.