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.
In a recent Reuters series, a team of reporters exposed what we still don't know about superbugs and highlighted a huge hole in that knowledge: the inaccuracy of death certificates.
Legislation recently signed into law in California requires doctors to check a state database before prescribing narcotics. A key advocate behind the effort says increasing media attention was crucial in winning the bill's passage.
Football fan culture is changing, writes contributing editor William Heisel, as the consequences of repeated hard collisions become common knowledge. "Knock his block off!" the old refrain went. Or maybe don't?
Despite their benefits, the use of sensors has stalled amid concerns that inaccurate readings could lead to sidelined players. Some worry games or even careers could be cut short by false positives. But is that a valid objection?
Last week, Carolina Panthers’ quarterback Cam Newton got a ton of ink for what were perceived as repeated concussion-threatening hits to the helmet. Why did this story get so much attention?
A quick primer on the science of how obesity and high cholesterol can break down cartilage and bones, spurring the development of arthritis.
One of the biggest ways obesity can lead to arthritis is the way it works on joints. The extra pressure that comes with more pounds tends to break down the cartilage in the knees, hips and other joints.
The link between obesity and arthritis rates is fertile ground for reporters to explore. In areas of the south, the two strongly overlap. Is it possible that obesity is driving arthritis rates in these areas?
A first-of-its-kind CDC report on arthritis gained hardly any notice in the media recently. Given the prevalence of the disease in the U.S., why aren’t health reporters devoting more coverage to this issue?
Despite problems with two medical boards, convictions of filing a false tax return and insurance fraud, Dr. Tomas Ballesteros Rios still has his California medical license. Meanwhile, the state's medical board has sent mixed messages.