Insights

<p>The recent <a href="http://www.suntimes.com/3686144-417/degrees-monday-service-expected-sno…; around the country reminded me that if you haven’t taken a look at what the current flu season is like in your community, it’s a good time to do so. I like how the Miami Herald’s Fred Tasker set the scene for the 2010-2011 in <a href="http://www.miamiherald.com/2010/09/28/v-fullstory/1845522/flu-season-st… Q&amp;A piece</a>.</p>

<p>Why is Disney invading hospital maternity wards? Plus more from our Daily Briefing.</p>

<p>When Dow Jones &amp; Co., publisher of <em>The Wall Street Journal</em>, <a href="http://www.law360.com/topnews/articles/222184/dow-jones-seeks-to-shine-… it was suing</a> to gain access to information about individual providers in the Medicare claims database, investigative reporters everywhere started salivating.</p>

<p>If you have a smartphone, chances are you know what an invaluable tool it is for a journalist.&nbsp;This week, we're highlighting iPhone applications that are useful for health journalists.</p>

<p>Which consumer health website was dubbed a "hypochondria time suck?" Answers and more in our Daily Briefing.</p>

<p>When I began reporting on health taboos in Asian communities in New York, I didn't know I would be facing such tough challenges.</p><p>&nbsp;</p>

<p><em>The Wall Street Journal</em>’s series on Medicare costs, “<a href="http://topics.wsj.com/subject/S/secrets-of-the-system/6281">Secrets of the System</a>,” sets the mind spinning with possibilities for future health investigations. I culled five tips from the <a href="../../../../../../../../blogs/covering-medicare-spending-part-1-tips-wall-street-journals-secrets-system">on Wednesday</a>. Here are five more. Next week, I will offer a few story ideas that could grow out of the Journal’s efforts to crack open the Medicare claims database for everyone.</p>

<p>Who are the federal government's most-wanted fugitives in health fraud? Answers and more in our Daily Briefing.</p>

<p>California scored in the lowest quartile among all states in its health care system's provision of services for children in a new Commonwealth Fund report, and the reasons behind it have very much to do with budget priorities. But there are also the complex issues of immigration and access to care that are not so easily resolved.</p>

<p>Are hospitals in your community affected by nationwide shortages of certain drugs? Answers and more in our Daily Briefing!</p>