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

Q&A with Nathanael Johnson: Why more California mothers are dying in childbirth

<p><a href="http://theheidihypothesis.blogspot.com/">Nathanael Johnson</a>, a Bay Area radio reporter and freelance writer, has made a nice career examining the many ways Americans go overboard – from the food that we eat to the health treatments that we seek. He has written about the Orwellian world of <a href="http://harpers.org/archive/2006/05/0081030">pork farming</a> and the <a href="http://harpers.org/archive/2008/04/0081992">radical raw milk movement</a> for Harper's magazine.

The Shadow Practice Part 4: Doc begs patients for loans

<p>Some physicians cater to the immigrant community out of public service or cultural affinity. Others, like Dr. Harrell Robinson, end up there because they ruined their own reputations with English-speaking patients.</p> <p>The Southern California cosmetic surgeon shared an Anaheim office with <a href="../../../../../../../../blogs/doctor-appointed-medical-board-supervisor-had-been-disciplined-new-york-california">Dr. Andrew Rutland</a>, the doctor who is now accused in the death of Chinese immigrant Ying Chen.</p>

The Shadow Practice, Part 3: Immigrant clinic had deep roots in deception

<p>Even a doctor with dead patients in his past can find startup capital.</p> <p>When Dr. Andrew Rutland was trying to set up shop in the old "Modern Woman's Clinic" building in Chula Vista, he tapped a friend for a loan: Dr. W. Constantine Mitchell.</p> <p>According to records from the California Office of Administrative Hearings, where <a href="../../../../../../../../blogs/california-governor-and-medical-board-should-stand-accused-patient%E2%80%99s-death">Rutland's case</a> before the medical board is currently being heard, Mitchell loaned Rutland $50,000 to help him start his practice.</p>

Doctors Behaving Badly: Emergency care physician reported for duty drunk

<p>Valentine's Day should be a national holiday. Until it is, most of us have to work Feb. 14 every year and tango with our valentines at night.</p> <p>Pity poor <a href="http://licenselookup.mbc.ca.gov/licenselookup/lookup.php?LicenseType=A&…. Amanda Waugh</a> then.</p> <p>She couldn't even look forward to a nice dinner and a long conversation about the plays of Tony Kushner over chocolate soufflé, because on Valentine's Day in 2009, she was stuck with the night shift at the La Palma Intercommunity Hospital's emergency room south of Los Angeles.</p>

The Shadow Practice Part 2: New owners can't exorcise ghosts of clinic's past

<p>Cash-only clinics in immigrant communities can be revolving doors. One shady provider gets shoved out, and another steps right in.</p> <p>When Dr. Andrew Rutland was allowed to return to medicine in 2007 after serving five years of probation for Medical Board of California charges related to the deaths of two babies, he was prevented from practicing alone. The Oct. 25, 2007 order by the medical board is clear: "Petitioner is prohibited from engaging in the solo practice of medicine."</p>

Q&A with Scott and Kathy Broussard, Part 2: Fighting to protect patients from harm

<p>When your child dies because of mistakes made by a doctor, you can sue. Scott and Kathy Broussard did that when Dr. Andrew Rutland twisted their daughter Jillian Broussard's neck so severely that he separated her head from her spine. Most patients either lose in court or settle their cases. If they settle, they go silent. How many times have you called a patient's family to be told, "We can't talk under the terms of the settlement."? The Broussards settled their case, but that didn't stop them from talking.</p>

Doctors Behaving Badly: Drug researcher was addicted to falsehoods

<p>Clinical psychologist <a href="http://www.ncovr.heinz.cmu.edu/CVs/05_fals_stewart.pdf">William Fals-Stewart</a> should have quit while he was ahead.</p> <p>While studying drug use at the University of Buffalo Research Institute on Addictions, Fals-Stewart was accused in 2004 of faking his data in reports to the federal government. In one case, he said he had studied more than 200 subjects, yet he only had consent forms for about 50.</p>

The Shadow Practice, Part 1: Disciplined doctor found an exile community in immigrant health care

<p>The Anaheim obstetrician accused in a patient’s death was part of a community of doctors on the fringe who had escaped the stigma of their pasts by treating immigrants.</p> <p>Dr. Andrew Rutland was charged by the Medical Board of California in December of negligence after the death of a Chinese immigrant, Ying Chen, at a San Gabriel clinic. Rutland had been trying to give her an abortion, the board said, when he administered a fatal dose of lidocaine, an anesthetic.</p>

Q&A with Scott and Kathy Broussard: Feeling called to demand better doctor oversight

<p>Scott Broussard is a battalion chief with the Costa Mesa Fire Department. He’s used to knocking down doors when there is an emergency and trying to stay steady in the midst of chaos. Kathy Broussard is a pediatric intensive care nurse who has seen children die and children saved from the brink of death. She is now focused on raising her two children.</p>