Elective surgeries are being canceled at University of California Medical Centers in anticipation of a potential strike next week by thousands of patient care workers.

The most popular drug for hair loss in men, Propecia, can cause debilitating side effects, including loss of sexual function and depression.

Severely injured patients treated at UC Medical Center in Hillcrest will get even faster and better care thanks to a new state-of-the-art trauma unit.

Non-smoking rooms in hotels that have a partial smoking ban don't protect people from tobacco smoke, according to a new study from San Diego State University.

Care at the five UC Medical Centers could be disrupted next week if some 13,000 union healthcare workers go out on strike.

Large employers would face state penalties for failing to provide health insurance to their workers, under a bill in the California Assembly.

Two California children have been implanted with a magnetic device that promises to revolutionize the way curvature of the spine is treated in young people.

Some 3 million Californians on Medi-Cal may get their dental benefits back if some Democratic lawmakers have their way.

A bill that seeks to reduce childhood obesity by taxing soft drinks is under consideration in the state Senate.

California lawmakers seem to be inclined to prevent a 10 percent Medi-Cal pay cut to doctors and hospitals from taking effect.

New and expectant moms in San Diego will get more helpful health tips as a free text messaging service expands.

If you make between $47,000 and $94,000 a year, you may be eligible for a federal subsidy to buy health insurance beginning in 2014.

The concussion-related lawsuit filed against the NFL on behalf of former Chargers linebacker Junior Seau will face a crucial test in Philadelphia.

A federal judge says emergency contraception must be sold to anyone over the counter.

As the death toll from drug overdoses continues to rise, a bill in the California Assembly would require the state to take steps to address the problem.

As it celebrates its 50th anniversary in San Diego, Planned Parenthood is trying to foster a new generation of advocates.

A self-help program may be as effective as traditional clinic-based programs in helping obese kids lose weight, a new study suggests

A smartphone app that allows you to see how other consumers rate your medical group and health plan? Check.

What does lung cancer have in common with how people navigate to certain websites? Plenty, says a new study.

While UC San Diego will go smoke free this fall, SDSU's policy is still up in the air.

In a new report, California regulators say Kasier Permanente has been giving short shrift to mental-health care.

On the 3rd anniversary of the Affordable Care Act, federal officials say Californians have already gotten their money's worth.

Beating 5,000 to 1 odds, UC San Diego researchers have just gotten a new injectable imaging drug approved by the FDA.

Geography will play a bigger part in determining the price of health insurance in California next year.

North County Transit District's SPRINTER rail line, which runs between Escondido and Oceanside carrying 7,800 passengers a day, will be taken off the tracks to replace worn brake rotors.

A quarter of a million Californians with Blue Cross PPO plans are being hit with double-digit premium hikes.

San Diegans who want to get a refill of their narcotic painkillers from hospital emergency departments will soon have to look elsewhere.

Workplace wellness programs can save money and improve employee health, but not overnight.

With the demand for palliative care growing, Cal State San Marcos is introducing an online class for chaplains to help them deal with severely ill and terminal patients.

Anthem Blue Cross is suspending a program that would have prevented HIV/AIDS patients from getting their medications from local pharmacies.

Palomar Health will introduce a new patient monitoring system that looks like something out of Star Trek.

Low-income Californians without health insurance or who aren’t eligible for Medi-Cal can now see which benefits they can expect under the federal health care overhaul- and how much their coverage will cost.

Should nurse practitioners and physician assistants be allowed to operate independently? Some California lawmakers think so.

A unique type of neurosurgery offers hope to patients with spinal cord injuries.

The nonprofit group Consumer Watchdog says doctors in California should be drug tested.

California has one of the nation's lowest premature birth rates, according to a new report from the March of Dimes.

Starting next year, everyone will be required to have health insurance, or pay a fine.

Kaiser Permanente has 40 percent of California's lucrative health insurance market.

California doctors are asking a federal appeals court to review a decision that allows the state to cut the Medi-Cal payment rate by 10 percent.

The newest generation of implantable heart pumps are keeping many patients alive while they wait for a heart transplant.

What recession? Hospital executives at many of California's non-profit hospitals are making seven figures a year.

The Salk Institute for Biological Studies has received its largest-ever grant, $42 million to establish a research center for decoding common genetic factors among chronic human diseases.

HIV treatment is most beneficial when it's started within four months of the estimated infection date, according to a new study.

San Diego may be known as America's Finest City, but it doesn't rank very high in the latest tobacco control report from the American Lung Association.

Anthem Blue Cross's new policy requiring HIV/AIDS patients to get their drugs by mail order has prompted a lawsuit charging the move is discriminatory.

Babies born with spina bifida, one of the most common birth defects, can face a lifetime of medical issues.

Junior Seau, the former NFL linebacker whose suicide last May at age 43 shocked fans and former teammates, suffered from chronic traumatic encephalopathy, a neurodegenerative disease associated with repetitive head injuries, according to a study by the National Institutes of Health.

Health officials say so far this season, San Diego hasn't been hit as hard with the flu as many other parts of the country.

California regulators aren't happy about it, but they don't have the power to block the latest Anthem Blue Cross rate hike from taking effect later this month.

Kaiser Permanente may be held responsible for compromising the medical records of nearly 300,000 people.