FYI…UCSF in the News is a daily summary of news stories published worldwide that highlight UCSF, its affiliated programs, and issues that affect the University.  To read the full news story, click the individual headlines listed below.

On the second Wednesday of each month, FYI…UCSF in the News includes an additional "Research Roundup" section that lists research papers authored by UCSF faculty and published in the journals Cell, Health Services Research, JAMA, Lancet, Nature, NEJM, Nursing Research, and Science.

UCSF PRINT AND ONLINE COVERAGE

  • Lack of minority doctors 'alarming' (Los Angeles Daily News)
    The Los Angeles Daily News reports: "The first-ever analysis of physician diversity in California showed an alarmingly low number of Latino and African-American doctors in practice, particularly in Los Angeles County, where nearly half of patients are Spanish-speaking. 'It is key to understand that this is a public health issue, not just a civil-rights issue,' said Dr. Kevin Grumbach, director of the University of California, San Francisco, Center for California Health Workforce Studies, which compiled the data. 'We were shocked to find just 3,000 actively practicing Latino physicians in a state of 35million people.'" --- [See San Francisco Chronicle story: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2008/04/03/BAJVVUN1G.DTL]
  • Anthem Blue Cross won't pay for hospital goofs (San Francisco Chronicle)
    The Chronicle reports: "The state's largest insurer, Anthem Blue Cross, which changed its name this week from Blue Cross of California, said Wednesday that it will stop footing the bill for some of the most egregious medical errors, such as surgery performed on the wrong organ or patient. ... Dr. Robert Wachter, professor of medicine at UCSF and the author of two books on patient safety and medical errors, agreed in concept with the idea of not paying for mistakes as a way to encourage hospitals to develop systems to avoid errors."
  • A family of scientists (TheStar.com, Malaysia)
    The Star, Malaysia's most widely English newspaper, profiles Dr. Elizabeth Blackburn, a Morris Herzstein Professor of Biology and Physiology at the Department of Biochemistry & Biophysics, University of California, San Francisco, and pioneer in telomere and telomerase research.

UCSF TELEVISION COVERAGE

  • Few minority doctors in California (KTVU Morning News 5 AM - KTVU-TV)
    KTVU mentioned the report by the UCSF Center for California Health Workforce Studies that found minority doctors are underrepresented among physicians in California. --- Air Time: 5 AM Duration: 00:23:45
  • Smoking Gene (KTVU-TV CH 2 (FOX) San Francisco)
    KTVU reports: “A gene that may affect smokers’ ability to quit is the same gene linked to increased risk of lung cancer.” John Fowler interviews UCSF professor Ray White, PhD, director of the Gallo Clinic and Research Center – an institution dedicated to the study of the biology of alcohol and substance abuse – about the connection between nicotine addiction and lung cancer, and alcohol abuse and smoking. --- Air Times: 5 and 10 PM. Duration: 00:26:28

UCSF HEADLINES

  • UCSF Police Department to Undergo Accreditation Review (UCSF Today)
    A team of assessors for the Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies, Inc. (CALEA) will arrive at UCSF on April 5 to examine all aspects of the UCSF Police Department, according to Chief Pamela E. Roskowski.
  • UCSF Health Workforce Center Pinpoints Shortage of Minority Doctors (UCSF Today)
    New data on California physicians confirm that there is vast ethnic disparity in the state’s physician workforce when compared to the state’s population, particularly for Latinos and African Americans. The report, “Physician Diversity in California: New Findings from the California Medical Board Survey” was released today by the Center for California Health Workforce Studies at the University of California, San Francisco.
  • UCSF School of Pharmacy Unveils Its Strategic Course (UCSF Today)
    The UCSF School of Pharmacy recently released a strategic plan that sets the direction for the nationally top-ranked school over five years. ... “It is a plan that looks at today’s medications and the needs of patients and lays out an agenda to meet those needs,” says Mary Anne Koda-Kimble, PharmD, dean of the UCSF School of Pharmacy.