Insights

<p>When a troubled teen whose parents have left her in the care of the foster system dies, she could easily be forgotten, a bureaucratic footnote in some annual report. Blythe Bernhard and Jeremy Kohler at the St. Louis Post-Dispatch have made certain that Alexis Evette Richie will be a name that resonates with federal regulators, hospital administrators and patient advocates for years to come.</p>

<p>Here’s what we’re reading and watching today:</p> <p><strong>Air Quality</strong>: Here’s one instance where wealth isn’t linked to health: ScienceDaily <a href="http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/08/100804122717.htm">reports on a study</a> finding that homes in both poor and affluent California communities had similarly high levels of endocrine disruptors. These <a href="http://www.niehs.nih.gov/health/topics/agents/endocrine/index.cfm">disr…; can affect the endocrine system and lead to fertility and infant development problems among other health risks.</p>

<p>Patients are often misinformed about the details of their conditions or insurance status. Here are tips on how to get their narratives right.</p>

<p>Here’s what we’re reading and watching today:</p> <p><strong>Medical Errors:</strong> The Columbia Journalism Review <a href="http://www.cjr.org/campaign_desk/hurray_for_the_st_louis_postdispatch.p… the <em>St. Louis Post-Dispatch</em></a> for publishing Jeremy Kohler’s and Blythe Bernhard’s &nbsp;<a href="http://www.stltoday.com/news/local/metro/article_c3917859-41e8-520a-84e… of how difficult it was to investigate</a> a Missouri surgeon who removed the wrong kidney from a patient in 2007. &nbsp;</p>

<p><strong>Children’s Eye Health and Safety Month:</strong></p>

<p>The <a href="http://www.ksbha.org/">Kansas Board of Healing Arts</a> has an interesting approach to public disclosure. The board tells you what, if anything, it did to discipline a doctor, but it refuses to tell you why.</p> <p>How a doctor harmed patients, what types of drugs a doctor may have been taking while performing surgeries, whether a doctor had a long history of dangerous practices. These are considered secrets best kept among the professionals.</p>

<p>We are two weeks out from the <a href="http://www.reportingonhealth.org/blogs/recap-week-challenging-our-heath… week of seminars and conversations</a> where this year's USC/California Endowment National Health Journalism Fellows and Dennis A. Hunt Fund for Health Journalism grant recipients met each other and dived deeply into their reporting projects. If you're curious about what they're working on, here's a rundown. (Read more by clicking on fellows' names, and comment to give them ideas for their work.)</p>

<p>What we’re reading and listening to today:</p> <p><strong>Snail spit:</strong> This could be the best trade headline of the year: <a href="http://www.hcplive.com/pain-management/articles/snail_spit_painkiller">… Painkiller Made From Snail Spit Now Comes in a Pill</a>.</p>

<p>For your Monday, some items to keep you busy this week:</p><p><strong>Big Decision:</strong> Mary Carmichael has a "DNA Dilemma" over at her <em>Newsweek</em> blog. She begins a <a href="http://www.newsweek.com/2010/08/02/dna-dilemma-one-writer-s-week-long-q… social media-heavy process to decide whether or not to take a direct-to-consumer genetic test</a>:</p>

<p><p>Health authorities have declared the United States on alert, in response to increasing cases of type 2 diabetes in the country. Official reports refer to a threat of major proportions that makes a state of emergency public health, so much so that there is already talk of an emerging epidemic. The most affected are children and members of minorities, particularly Hispanics.</p>