The California Department of Public Health, which monitors the quality of care at hospitals, has fined 16 hospitals for not complying with state and federal regulations. Of the 16 hospitals fined, three were in Los Angeles County and three were in Orange County. Four fines against Riverside County’s John F. Kennedy Memorial Hospital total $100,000. The state agency’s director says it focused on lapses in patient care.

The Royal College of Nursing (RCN) announced that it would continue providing accreditation for nurses offering Long Acting Reversible Contraception (LARC). The announcement follows an internal review which focused on finding a sustainable solution to providing LARC accreditation. LARC covers nurses fitting intrauterine techniques (IUTs) and subdermal contraceptive implants (SDIs). From 1 April 2010 the RCN will provide the accreditation at a cost of £300 for members and £400 for non-members.

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Intel Corporation has announced the Intel Health Guide, a tablet-PC which offers management tools for health care professionals that treat patients with chronic conditions. The Health Guide represents Intel’s entry into a new category of personal health systems, and it promises functions beyond the simple, common remote patient monitoring systems, providing a wider range of processing abilities. The Intel Health Guide received 510(k) market clearance from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in July 2008. It’s a comprehensive personal health system that combines an in-home patient device, the Intel Health Guide PHS6000.

Sonic Innovations, Inc. has introduced sonicBLU, a cordless communication equipment which would connect the users of the company’s Velocity(TM) hearing aids to Bluetooth-enabled cell phones. The device has up to four hours of talk time a stand-by time of up to 70 hours. The lithium-ion battery is rechargeable within one and a half hours. The operating range of the device can go up to 10 meters. It weighs 10 grams, having dimensions of 42 mm x 24 mm x 12 mm.

According to CQ HealthBeat reports, the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission has recommended that the Medicare payment system be amended so as to include skilled nursing facilities as separate nontherapy ancillary component. The prescription drugs and intravenous therapy also come under the same component.