William Heisel
Contributing Editor
Contributing Editor
I have reported on health for most of my career. My work as an investigative reporter at the Los Angeles Times and the Orange County Register exposed problems with the fertility industry, the trade in human body parts and the use of illegal drugs in sports. I helped create a first-of-its-kind report card judging hospitals on a wide array of measures for a story that was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize. I was one of the lead reporters on a series of stories about lead in candy, a series that also was a finalist for the Pulitzer.For the Center for Health Journalism (previously known as Reporting on Health), I have written about investigative health reporting and occasionally broke news on my column, Antidote. I also was the project editor on the Just One Breath collaborative reporting series. These days, for the University of Washington, I now work as the Executive Director for Insitutue for Health Metrics and Evaluation's Client Services, a social enterprise. You can follow me on Twitter @wheisel.
Numerous articles in peer-reviewed journals about pain as well as media coverage of pain begin with the premise that far more people suffer from pain than are adequately treated for it. This broad trend may be true, but the specific numbers sometimes used to justify this assertion merit more scrutin
Antidote already has started some momentum. If others join in, we could change public perception, improve public safety and save lives.
I am lobbying the Association of Health Care Journalists to help me make the case that death certificates and autopsies are important public records that should not be hidden by state or federal laws.
With Justin Bieber ticketed for dodging paparazzi and Katie Holmes awarded primary custody, the gossip press can be forgiven for missing the latest in the case of the doctor who overdosed Michael Jackson.
Despite the Supreme Court’s decision to uphold the Affordable Care Act, many Americans remain suspicious -- even fearful -- about the law.
The Bakersfield Californian recently took on one of the most ambitious health care quality projects I have seen attempted by an outlet outside of the really big markets. One reporter, Kellie Schmitt, wanted to answer two questions: whether most of the doctors in Kern County were from another country and whether that mattered.
In the second part of a guest post by freelance journalist Kate Benson, she discusses why journalists must report meaningful context and look for vested interests in all sides of a debate.
Do reporters spend too much time making everyday problems seem like conditions that need medical treatment?
How do you get access to death records? Leave your desk, for starters.
Tomorrow, doctors will still be taking care of their patients, regardless of the Supreme Court's decision on health reform.