In April, the governor of Oklahoma signed a bill that requires doctors to check a state-run database of patients and prescriptions before writing a new prescription for addictive medications. That makes the state a national leader in efforts to track such prescriptions and curtail abuse.
Reporter Tom Corwin of The Augusta Chronicle was shocked to learn of 82 unexpected deaths in 2013 among disabled patients receiving care in community placements in Georgia. The discovery launched him on an extended data-driven investigation. Here he shares lessons from the series.
Organ transplants are increasing at a faster rate than the population in the U.S., but not all transplant programs are created equal. Knowing where to find the relevant data can help you dig deeper and explore regional variations in wait times and success rates.
The University of Minnesota is replacing the chairman of its psychiatry department following two scathing reviews of its safety protocols in research involving human subjects and its recruitment of a troubled man who later died by suicide in a schizophrenia drug trial.
When reporting on hospitals, it pays to download and read the hospital’s Joint Commission report. These reports are an important first step in understanding the basic outlines of how a hospital is performing relative to others.
Dan Markingson suffered from schizophrenia and killed himself in May 2004 while taking part in a clinical trial for an antipsychotic drug made by AstraZeneca. The evolving case continues to highlight problems of research oversight at the university and state levels.
Are you making good use of hospital and nursing home inspection records in your reporting? If not, a few key database resources can help get you started. A review of several years can show patterns of medication errors, nursing lapses, or may highlight a horrific case.
Doctors usually train in a specialty, but they don’t have to practice in that specialty. And, in most states, they don’t have to tell you how they trained before they treat you. Records from medical specialty boards can help reporters figure out if doctors are board-certified and in which field.
If you are a Californian having a baby for the first time, choose your hospital wisely. You might even wish to move. A recent report from the California Hospital Assessment and Reporting Taskforce revealed alarming discrepancies in outcomes for low-risk pregnancies at high-performing and low-perform
A look at federal inspection reports will reveal how hospitals have failed to protect patients from contracting serious, and sometimes deadly, infections.
