Insights

An innovative program allows elderly residents to remain in their own homes, rather than in a nursing home. At AltaMed's El Monte clinic, a 14-member interdisciplinary team coordinates each senior patient’s care, and vulnerable seniors are kept as busy and engaged as possible.

Take a look at this week's roundup of job, fellowship and award opportunities.

“Health care is what happens when things go wrong,” Dr. Anthony Iton says. “Health care doesn’t actually make you healthy — it prevents you from deteriorating rapidly.” The broader forces that really shape health, he argues, are what journalists and policymakers should really be focusing on.

The 2015 California Health Journalism Fellowship kicked off with a wide-ranging conversation between Gerald Kominski of UCLA's Center for Health Policy Research and Anna Gorman of Kaiser Health News on the past and future of health reform.

The practice of physicians "self-referring" patients to facilities in which they or their families have a financial stake has dramatically increased in some specialties. The practice increases health costs for procedures and tests that are of questionable benefit to patients.

Known as bodega clinics or storefront clinics — these doctors' offices are incredibly popular in Orange County's Latino neighborhoods. But public health officials harbor a number of concerns about such "bodega" clinics.

Two high-profile studies came out this week with similar conclusions: Exposing kids to microbes and allergens may well lead to fewer allergies and better-adjusted immune systems. Tolerance of potential triggers, the studies suggest, is looking more and more like an acquired skill.

A series of reports has found that physicians who "self-refer" are following their financial interests and not always the best interests of their patients. The trend is driving up health care costs and potentially putting patients at risk from unnecessary services.

Geographic boundaries can have a big impact on health insurance options, particularly for people living in rural regions. Rural residents tend to fare better on premiums and choices when their area is grouped with an urban neighbor.