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.

Articles

Superbugs may show up wearing hospital scrubs

<p>On Monday, Dr. David C. Martin, a retired Sacramento anesthesiologist, introduced the idea that the public should be on the watch for health care workers wearing hospital scrubs outside of a medical setting, especially in restaurants. Martin's plea for a public health response continues.</p>

Hospital scrubs and sandwiches should not mix

<p>You probably have been to a restaurant near a hospital and seen a doctor, nurse or medical assistant wearing scrubs and standing in line for a sandwich. You probably didn’t give this a second thought, but Dr. David C. Martin thinks you should be alarmed.</p>

Whistle

The False Claims Act: The law that makes fraud whistles blow

<p>Investigative reporters love whistleblowers. In health fraud cases, whistleblowers often use the False Claims Act, motivated not only by a sense of injustice, but also by the promise of a payday. It’s important to understand these motivations when pursuing stories and to understand the inner