The case of Dr. Reinaldo de los Heros illustrates a troubling tendency for critical information about a physician to go missing. State medical boards could do much more to keep the online paper trail intact over time.
Healthcare Systems & Policy
California’s jails were built to hold inmates for relatively short sentences — usually just a few months. But now local law enforcement is grappling with how to hold offenders for long periods of time, which is having an impact on mentally ill inmates.
“Open data, to my mind, is about empowering communities with numbers presented in useful ways that can help fuel real-world change,” writes CHCF's Andy Krackov. Here he offers some tips on how we can make that happen.
Upwards of two-thirds of uninsured kids in the U.S. are eligible for Medicaid or CHIP, but aren’t enrolled. New research suggests parent mentors could be a highly effective solution to getting more low-income kids insured, with potentially huge cost savings.
Finding out about a doctor's record from state medical boards isn't as easy as it should be. Consider the story of Kelly Deyo, who died of a prescription overdose last year. Her doctor's record spans four states, but the details aren't easy to unearth.
Do undocumented residents have to pay the Obamacare penalty for not having health insurance? Despite advocates' efforts, you might be surprised at how much confusion there is — even from tax preparers.
Just because a medical board takes action, it doesn’t mean that the action is adequate. Consider the case of Dr. Reinaldo de los Heros, a Maine psychiatrist who columnist William Heisel first wrote about back in 2010.
Community engagement has been a big buzzword in recent years. Cole Goins of the Center for Investigative Reporting recently shared tips with California reporters on how to think creatively about "journalism as a community change agent."
“One important thing is to find your advocate,” veteran reporter John Gonzales told fellow journalists this week. “You got to find someone who is going to be there for you when you’re having trouble with access.”
Star Apartments in L.A.'s Skid Row is a dazzling vision of what homeless housing can look like. But it's not the model the city is banking on to meet its huge need for supportive housing for the region's 45,000 people without homes.