Insights

Electronic medical records held out the promise of a better future, with everyone reaping the benefits. In reality, poorly designed systems slow doctors down, hinder the doctor-patient relationship, and often get things wrong. Doctors and patients deserve better solutions.

Is a bit overweight actually the healthiest weight of all? A recent JAMA study suggested as much. But a new analysis of the data reveals a deep flaw in the original study, and provides a lesson in the value of questioning how data are collected and used in any given study.

Nearly twenty years after the trial of British au pair Louise Woodward brought shaken baby syndrome into the headlines, the case of Irish nanny Aisling Brady McCarthy has raised the subject again in Boston newspapers, where reporters are still fresh from a different controversial diagnosis.

For hundreds of thousands of Californians waiting for their Medicaid applications to be processed, affordable health coverage is still a dream. The delays, partly caused by tech glitches, come with real human costs for those in application limbo and in need of care.

Recently released data from the CDC shows children on Medicaid are going to the ER at rates higher than uninsured kids or those on private insurance, and often for reasons having little to do with medical emergencies. And that can mean higher costs for the public health system.

Take a look at this week's jobs opportunities, which include positions at National Journal, Kaiser Family Foundation, Cincinnati.com, and U.S. News & World Report, among others.

Ireland is on the verge of allowing death certificates to omit the cause of death, largely to spare family members of suicide victims from seeing the word "suicide" on the form. But is that reason enough to conceal the facts on such a critical document?

Hiding causes of death can become a major hurdle in getting accurate reads on health problems. Calling suicides something else on death certificates or striking the word “suicide” from the public record will have a similar effect.

This week take a look at new positions from Cambridge University Press and the America Health Care Association.

A study on vicarious trauma found lasting impacts on the mental health of some children whose family was involved in the manhunt for Boston marathon bomber.