Insights

<p><a href="http://www.reportingonhealth.org/users/dr-tom-linden">Tom Linden</a> seemed to be on a fast track to a successful career in journalism.<br /><br />He was the editor-in-chief of his high school newspaper in Southern California. As a college student at Yale University, Linden got his reporter's legs at the <em>Yale Daily News</em> and covered the New Haven Black Panther trials for the <em>Los Angeles Times</em>. When he graduated in 1970, he won a fellowship and secured a book deal to write about army deserters in exile who were protesting or escaping the Vietnam War.<br />

<p>As patients, we tend not to think much about generic medications, except to appreciate that they’re a lot cheaper than brand name drugs.</p> <p>That’s why this <a href="http://www.thehealthcareblog.com/the_health_care_blog/2010/06/top-10-ge… of top 10 lifesaving generic medications</a> by <a href="http://drpullen.com/">Dr. Ed Pullen</a> of Puyallup, Wa. was such an interesting read, particularly in this recession. Pullen offers some historical context:</p>

<p>As a health writer for a newspaper, I used to tease reporters who would say, “I have calls in” when they were asked about something happening on their beat.</p> <p>“You have calls in? Why are you waiting for someone to call you back? Call their boss and their boss’s boss until you get your questions answered.”</p> <p>Yet in <a href="http://bit.ly/cn1S3v">Monday’s post</a> about the Illinois Division of Professional Regulation, I basically told readers, “I have calls in.”</p> <p>And my editor called me on it.</p>

<p><img src="/files/u47/West_Nile_Virus_-_Insect_Trap.jpg" alt="Insect Trap West Nile Virus" width="240" height="180" style="float: left; margin-left: 15px; margin-right: 15px;" />Well, that’s a relief. Last year’s West Nile virus season <a href="http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/mm5925a1.htm?s_cid=mm5925a1_w"… out to be the mildest in eight years</a>, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control, and this summer promises the same.</p>

<p>…or is it losing?</p><p>As I was reading through the journal articles documenting the results of a long-term comparison of low-fat vs. low-carb diets, the results at timepoints along the way reminded me of the play-by-play of a tightly contested horse race. So that's how I presented the story... with the help of an animated graphic. This sort of playful presentation of research results can't be used all the time, but it broke the tedium for me... and I hope for viewers... without sacrificing accuracy or context.</p>

<p>Everybody has worked with a jerk. Someone who steals credit for your work. Someone who berates their employees behind closed doors but turns on the smiles for the executives. Someone who is loathe to admit a mistake.</p> <p>When that jerk is a physician, the consequences are steeper than bruised egos or misbegotten bonus pay. Patients can end up with the wrong medication. Surgery can be performed on the wrong organ. Someone who had an excellent chance at surviving a disease can be dead in seconds.</p>

<p>The number of obese American children <a href="http://www.philly.com/inquirer/local/pa/20100628_Study_finds_childhood_… be declining slightly</a>, but adults? Not so much. <a href="http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE65S4PJ20100629?feedType=RSS&amp;f… new report</a> finds more grownups getting fatter in 28 states, a hefty number of them in the South.</p> <p>Here’s an excerpt from <a href="http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE65S4PJ20100629?feedType=RSS&amp;f…’s Reuters’ story</a>:</p>

<p>When playing soccer - football to most of the world - it is good to possess the ball. But possession isn't enough. Even children scrimmaging in street games understand that all that really counts is scoring.</p>

<p>It’s a dismal day for diabetes drugs, with new research showing that <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/06/28/AR20100… raises the risks for heart disease and stroke</a> and <a href="http://online.wsj.com/article/SB100014240527487039641045753346501552142… side effects reported for taspoglutide</a>, an experimental diabetes drug from Roche that was expected to be a huge seller. &nbsp;</p>