Healthcare Systems & Policy

Keriana Carll cries in pain nearly every day. Her mouth hurts. The 4-year-old has such severe dental disease that she had to get her front tooth pulled. But no dentist in Florida's Sarasota or Manatee County was willing to treat her.

In covering the health care workforce beat, just reporting a simple number detailing the size of provider shortages or surpluses can be very misleading, explains researcher Susan Skillman in this tip sheet.

Only two of 103 listings were accurate, according to a Sarasota Herald-Tribune survey.

Florida Gov. Rick Scott vetoed a universally-supported bill to bring dentists to underserved communities last year, despite the strong need for more dental care providers.

Local communities and the federal government prioritize dental care, but Florida's state agencies don't have much to offer, according to a special series in the Sarasota Herald-Tribune.

In Florida dental practices serving lots of Medicaid patients, parents are often barred from appointments.

Zika has become the biggest health story of the summer, and the volume of coverage reflects that. But some of the most interesting reporting has started to focus on the longer-term effects of the virus on children.

Are California hospitals doing a better job of preventing serious mistakes in the wake of a state program that issues high-profile penalties for such errors? One reporter finds reasons for doubt in the data.

A long-awaited decision by regulators appears to be imminent on the proposed merger between Cottage Health and Sansum Clinic, which has the largest physician practice in the area with 23 outpatient sites spanning Santa Maria to Santa Barbara.

“We expected to find a larger difference between plans on and off the exchange,” said researcher Simon Haeder. “In both cases, it was very unlikely to get an appointment.”