Insights

<p>Jeanne Bouillon nearly bled to death after a gynecological procedure went awry. When she found out that the doctor who had performed the procedure had been sued several times to the tune of more than $700,000, she started fighting in Illinois and in Washington D.C. for better disclosure laws that would allow patients to see a physician’s malpractice and disciplinary history. One piece of legislation she fought for, the <a href="http://www.tubal.org/SJBreportMarch02hearing.htm">Patient Right-to-Know Act</a>, eventually made its way into law in 2005.</p>

<p>Does anyone remember receiving healthcare in the 1960s? Everyone had affordable health insurance through their employer. All of the family was covered. Doctor visits were scheduled by whoever was in need of the care. That means, even if you were a 16-year-old and had the flu, you could still

<p>A lack of jobs, after school activities and other opportunities and resources are often blamed for the epidemic of gang activity and youth violence plaguing our country. Listening to numerous experts describe academic and first-hand experience with gangs and urban violence – including the permanent neurological and chemical impacts of this violence – during the National Health Journalism Fellowship last week, I wondered if jobs and activities for youth could really do much to quell this enormous problem with so many inter-related roots.</p>

<p>The Clean Trucks program and other innovations at the ports of L.A. and Long Beach have significantly reduced the diesel emissions around the ports, meaning important public health ramifications for the surrounding communities who are at higher risk of respiratory disease, cardiac disease and&nbsp; cancer because of the particulate matter and smog caused by diesel emissions.</p>

<p><a href="http://www.reportingonhealth.org/users/joannalin">Joanna Lin</a> graduated from USC in 2008, just before the U.S. economy began to nosedive. Since then, she has worked for five different media outlets, grew a professional journalism career in a time of upheaval, and developed a philosophy and fortitude about doing the work she loves.</p>

<p>If you've seen Jamie Oliver's <em>Food Revolution</em> on ABC, you might be interested in some recent studies about group and individual interventions for people who are overweight or at risk for diabetes.</p>

<p>Here’s what we’re reading today:</p> <p><strong>Fight the Bite:</strong> California reports its <a href="http://www.westnile.ca.gov/">first human West Nile virus cases of the season</a>, in what appears to be a late start to a mild West Nile season nationally. What’s happening in your community? For some resources and ideas for your coverage, check out this <a href="http://www.reportingonhealth.org/blogs/summer-schools-session-covering-… Wonk post</a>.</p>

<p><a href="http://www.reportingonhealth.org/users/destrin">Deborah Estrin</a> is a computer science professor interested in the low-tech. To her, everyday technology -- as opposed to supercomputers and expensive gadgets -- are brilliant tools for data collection. The world's 5 billion cell phones -- and the cameras and GPS that are increasingly common components -- represent tremendous opportunities. Using "smart" mobile phones, researchers, community groups and journalists can design ways to capture information about people whose stories and health status are otherwise hard to capture.</p>

<p>Jeanne Bouillon has a tenacity that most patients lack. When you are sick, you don't feel like fighting. And when you have been injured by a physician, you can feel deeply violated and want to just cover your head and hide.</p>

<p>The <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gantry_crane">gantry cranes</a> at the Ports of <a href="http://www.portoflosangeles.org/">Los Angeles </a>and <a href="http://www.polb.com/">Long Beach</a> tower high above acres of stacked shipping containers – Hanjin, Matson, China Shipping – lined up along the harbor. These ports process 40 percent of container goods that arrive by ship in the United States; they directly or indirectly employ more than 120,000 people and generate billions of dollars in tax revenue each year.</p>