Insights

<p>Some good news (finally!) about whooping cough, and a hospital mystery: why was a California hospital named as one of the nation's best when it's being investigated for patient safety problems?&nbsp;</p>

<p>When I set out to produce my fellowship series on prescription drug abuse in West Virginia, I already knew some grim statistics.&nbsp;Residents here are more likely than those of any other state to die of a prescription overdose. Because of high rates of chronic disease and occupational injuries, people in West Virginia also fill more prescriptions per capita than anywhere else.</p>

<p>Investigative reporters love whistleblowers. In health fraud cases, whistleblowers often use the False Claims Act, motivated not only by a sense of injustice, but also by the promise of a payday. It’s important to understand these motivations when pursuing stories and to understand the inner

<p>ReportingonHealth celebrates its two-year anniversary this week. To celebrate this milestone, we are introducing a new look – one that puts the contributions of our community members at center stage.</p>

<p>In today's <em>Daily Briefing</em>, studies and statistics show us surprising things about health. In the "health by zip code" files, the University of Wisconsin Population Health Institute and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation have released their <a href="http://www.countyhealthrankings.org/">second annual county health rankings</a>. Janice Simmons at FierceHealthcare <a href="http://www.fiercehealthcare.com/story/counties-ranked-online-overall-he… the report</a> and <em>Marketplace</em> reports that <a href="http://marketplace.publicradio.org/display/web/2011/03/30/am-a-surprise… healthiest county in the country actually doesn't have great health care options</a>.</p>

<p>Yep, it's that time again: The University of Wisconsin Population Health Institute and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation today released their second annual <a href="http://www.countyhealthrankings.org/">rankings of health in America's counties</a>. And so I'm reposting some context and story ideas from last year's rankings - they're still applicable this year.</p>

<p>Low trace levels of radioactive iodine-131 have been found in <a href="http://m.sfgate.com/sfchron/db_41167/contentdetail.htm;jsessionid=BD82E… in Massachusetts</a>. Now, as Doc Gurley r

<p>William Heisel interviews Michele Simon, public health attorney and author of <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Appetite-Profit-industry-undermines-health/dp/156… for Profit</a>, who wants people to rethink what they are eating and why. She peers through the food industry marketing to see what big packaged food manufacturers and restaurant giants are really selling.</p>

<p>Today in the Daily Briefing&nbsp;we're reading about conflicts of interest, Google Health and wars that don't end at home.</p>

<p><p>I received my first cigarettes around the time I got my first iron, stove, and refrigerator. This was the sixties, and the appliances were toys. The cigarettes were candy.</p><p>Looking back, I don't know what bothers me the most these days. The fact that I was being prepared for housework at such a young age, or that I was being prepared to smoke</p></p>