Insights

<p>Let’s say you were caught doing drugs at work. Do you think your boss would give you a second chance? Would your employer even allow your boss the authority to give you a second chance?</p>

<p>In my <a href="http://www.reportingonhealth.org/blogs/clearing-air-air-pollution-issue… few blogs</a>, I've explained some of the environmental issues facing the city of Long Beach both today and in the long-term. The main point of concern is often pollution caused by operations at the Port of Long Beach. But another concern, perhaps just as dangerous to the community in terms of air pollution, are the nearby railyard facilities where cargo trains move in and out, all day and every day.</p>

<p>Here’s what we’re checking out today:</p> <p><strong>Lung Cancer:</strong> Liz Szabo of USA Today examines a new study showing that <a href="http://www.usatoday.com/news/health/2010-11-04-ct-scan-lung-cancer_N.ht… CT scans can reduce lung cancer deaths by 20 percent</a> (x-rays, apparently, haven’t done the trick). Kudos for reporting on why the study results shouldn’t immediately spark calls for mass screenings. &nbsp;</p>

<p>Here’s what we’re checking out today, post-election:</p>

<p>With new health care report cards popping up all the time, patients need a way to decide which ones will help them make better decisions.</p> <p>Enter the <a href="http://www.informedpatientinstitute.org/index.html">Informed Patient Institute</a>.</p> <p>For the past two years, the Informed Patient Institute (IPI) has been providing a detailed analysis of online health report cards – covering nursing homes and physicians for now and other health areas in the future – to show consumers where they can find the best information.</p>

<p>Here’s what we’re checking out today:</p> <p><strong>Sniffle:</strong> A new study suggests that you’ll get fewer colds if you’re older, male and married. If you’re none of the above, <a href="http://featuresblogs.chicagotribune.com/features_julieshealthclub/2010/… regular exercise seems to prevent the sniffles</a>, Julie Deardorff reports for the Chicago Tribune.</p>

<p><em>We have a guest post today from veteran healthcare journalist Ron Shinkman, editor of <a href="http://www.payersandproviders.com/">Payers and Providers</a> and healthcare finance editor for the digital publisher <a href="http://www.fiercemarkets.com/">FierceMarkets.com</a&gt;. Ron has mined publicly available California health data for amazing stories </em><em>—</em><em> including one on hospitals who paid their CEOS more than they spent on charity care. If you report on health in California, his tips are a must-read.

Many years ago I was a kid on a wilderness canoe trip, on a beautiful isolated lake in northern Ontario. We stopped for lunch in the early afternoon and stripped down to wash up in the cold water.

<p>Here’s what we’re checking out today:</p><p><strong>STDs:</strong> Writing in BNET’s Placebo Effects blog, Jim Edwards writes about the <a href="http://www.bnet.com/blog/drug-business/girls-as-guinea-pigs-what-the-cd…, moral and health issues surrounding the HPV-preventing Gardasil vaccine for boys</a>. They’re more complicated – and expensive – than you’d think, and Edwards wonders whether the current debate reflects sexism in medicine.</p>

<p>Dr. Ahmad Hosseinipour in Ohio seemed to have a different excuse every time he found himself in a corner.</p>