Insights

You learn a lot when you spend months reporting on a given issue or community, as our fellows can attest. Whether you’re embarking on a big new story or seeking to go deeper on a given issue, it pays to learn from those who’ve already put in the shoe leather and crunched the data. In these essays and columns, our community of journalists steps back from the notebooks and tape to reflect on key lessons, highlight urgent themes, and offer sage advice on the essential health stories of the day. 

Author(s)
By William Heisel

A new study finds the average home is a prime reservoir of drug-resistant bacteria MRSA. For reporters, the study opens up a new set of story ideas while providing a fresh opportunity to think about how we write about such infections.

Author(s)
By DJ Jaffe

These eight myths about serious mental illness cause Congress to waste money and fail to implement policies that can improve care and keep patients public and police safer.   ...

Author(s)
By William Heisel

The U.S. is way behind in switching to a more expansive system of diagnostic and procedure codes, which are far better at tracking diseases. Even worse, the rest of the world will switch to a newer medical coding system less than two years after the U.S. finally adopts ICD-10 in October 2015.

Author(s)
By Erica Mu

In the Health Leads program, physicians and health care providers “prescribe” basic resources to their patients such as food, housing, electricity, heating, even job training. The emerging model represents a shift in the way we think about health and the social factors that shape it.

Author(s)
By Michelle Levander

Debra Sherman died Tuesday of lung cancer after more than a year of living with the disease. She spent her final days sharing what she learned about cancer with readers.

Author(s)
By Matt Smith

Smartphones have opened up a lot of new opportunities in many industries, and the health care sector isn’t any different. Providers are constantly searching for new and innovative solutions to better care for patients, track data, and build patient-provider relationships. Still, challenges remain.

Author(s)
By Jondi Gumz

Two years ago Sara Keenan was overweight and dependent on pain-killers that were shutting down her lungs and putting her at risk of dying. Today she is off pain-killers and 170 pounds lighter, with ambitions to become a personal coach to give hope to others who are overweight. Here is how she did it