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.
There are a range of agencies involved in licensing and disciplining the health care professionals who do the bulk of the work in clinics, hospitals, and other health care settings. Here's how to start tracking down records that can raise red flags and lead to compelling stories.
It’s been almost five months since the Ebola virus was first diagnosed in the U.S. What have we learned from it?
Penalty programs created under the Affordable Care Act are intended to improve quality of care at hospitals. But will they succeed?
Every state has some agency that oversees the licensing of physicians. And in those files are dozens of stories you should be writing about. Here's how to start using licensing and discipline records to find story leads and strengthen your reporting.
Every time someone famous dies after a medical error, hopes rise that we will see a meaningful response that will improve patient safety conditions. Joan Rivers' death has, in an incredibly quick time frame, led to some significant consequences for those involved.
A recent California survey found that even the highest-rated provider group received only a C+ rating from its patients. Does this reveal deep flaws in the way care is delivered or have patients come to expect too much from health care providers?
Three high-profile deaths that occurred over the past year are worth noting as reminders of the larger topics that should be top of mind for health writers.
