Insights

<p>Andrew Schneider is one of the country's most accomplished investigative journalists. His work has won not just <a href="http://www.pulitzer.org/awards/1987">one</a&gt;, but <a href="http://www.pulitzer.org/awards/1986">two</a&gt; Pulitzer Prizes, and countless other awards. I had the privilege of meeting him when both of us were finalists for the <a href="http://www.hks.harvard.edu/presspol/news_events/archive/2001/goldsmith_… Prize</a> for Investigative Reporting at Harvard. My team lost. So did his.

<p>If you, like me, were wondering how a guy like Dr. Conrad Murray, who had not bothered
keeping up with his studies enough to continue his certification as a cardiologist, could become the personal physician to the King of Pop, it's instructive to look at Dr. Jagat Narula.</p>

<p>Most of you won't know that name, but his career illuminates the gap between what the public expects when they see "Dr." in front of a person's name and what is often the reality.</p>

<p>The CDC today launched a Web-based environmental public health tracking network that could be a fantastic resource for journalists looking for stories in their state or county.</p>

<p>I say "could be" because right now, the system is frustratingly slow to use, even with a decent Internet connection. </p>

<p>The illegal use and sale of prescription drugs is not just a topic for Michael Jackson headlines. A <a href="http://www.usdoj.gov/dea/concern/prescription_drug_fact_sheet.html">fact sheet from the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration</a> says that nearly 7 million Americans are addicted to prescription drugs. The DEA says that abusers get their drugs from "'doctor-shopping,' traditional drug-dealing, theft from pharmacies or homes, illicitly acquiring prescription drugs via the Internet, and from friends or relatives."</p>

<p>Think about what it takes to obtain a medical license. Some states' licensing boards will rubber stamp a license from another state but others, like California's, require a lot of hoops.</p> <p>Then consider the case of Dr. Gregory Burnham Camp, who had licenses in California (No. 34329), Ohio (35-028433), North Carolina (36156) and Massachusetts. Why so many states?</p>

<p>Misadministration. When a physician has made a horrible mistake with wide-ranging ramifications, the terms "negligence," "malpractice" even "incompetence" might come to mind. Now this wonderful euphemism glides onto the scene, draping the wreckage in a filigree of blamelessness, warding off trial lawyers and investigative journalists. </p>

<p>The Washington Post's newsroom is in an uproar today after the political news website Politico.com broke a shocking <a href="http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0709/24441.html">story</a>: </p>

<p>"For $25,000 to $250,000, The Washington Post has offered lobbyists and association executives off-the-record, nonconfrontational access to "those powerful few": Obama
administration officials, members of Congress, and - at first - even the paper's own reporters and editors."</p>

<p>Within hours of the news breaking about Michael Jackson's death, attention started to turn toward one of the only eyewitnesses to the event: his personal physician.</p>

<p>A new Institute of Medicine <a href="http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=12648#toc">report</a&gt; offers some excellent fodder for stories on "comparative effectiveness research," which examines whether and why some medical treatments are more effective than others. </p>

<p>You'll be hearing a lot about the comparative effectiveness buzzword as the national health reform debate unfolds, because it's seen as crucial in in lowering health costs. Why spend money on drug-eluting stents for heart disease, for example, if plain old stents might just keep people alive longer? </p>