Looking For Story Ideas? Try AcademyHealth

Journalists looking for health care stories should check out AcademyHealth for ideas, says Michael Millenson, a former health reporter for the Chicago Tribune, in a blog post for The Medicare NewsGroup.

AcademyHealth researches questions related to health care costs, access and quality, and the policy issues those questions raise.

Here are some research items that has sparked story ideas for Millenson:

• “Cognitive Impairment and End-of-Life Health Care Utilization,” from University of Michigan researchers. Or: “If an elderly man or woman is mentally confused, are hospitals likely to ‘pull the plug’ sooner on end-of-life care?”
• “Impact of Community Factors on Readmission Rates,” from Harvard School of Public Health researchers. Or: “Will penalizing hospitals financially when Medicare patients are discharged then readmitted inadvertently hurt the poor and minorities?”
• “Models and Tools to Monitor Medicare Complaints Resolution Performance,” from the private company IMPAQ International and the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS). Or: “When an elderly person files an urgent complaint about a health plan or prescription drug plan, does anyone listen and do anything?”