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

Contraindications: Dr. Doyle John Borchers

<p>When Stanford University neurosurgeon and amateur pilot <a href="http://www2.dca.ca.gov/pls/wllpub/WLLQRYNA$LCEV2.QueryView?P_LICENSE_NU… John Borchers III</a> (California License No. 64879) crashed his plane near Lake Tahoe last August, investigators wondered what the hell he was doing flying a plane at night in a mountainous area in the first place.</p><p>Borchers, who died in the crash, had been flying sporadically for less than a year and had only flown at night once before - the night before the crash.</p>

Mark Katches: Now Heading Center for Investigative Reporting's California News Project

<p>Devoted fans of Antidote no doubt read my interview with <a target="_blank" rel="nofollow" href="/blogs/qa-mark-katches-editor-breaks-reporting-down-chemical-level">Mark Katches</a> a few weeks ago. Katches was just named the editorial director for the Center for Investigative Reporting's new <a target="_blank" rel="nofollow" href="http://www.centerforinvestigativereporting.org/blogs#4109">reporting project</a> in California. </p>

Dropping science: Journalists can check food safety claims in the lab

<p>Food is packaged with a veneer of sincerity. Contents are dutifully itemized along with tables showing the percentage of recommended nutrients, fat content, etc. But there is much that remains a mystery. You are never going to see a candy wrapper that says, "May contain lead."</p>

Contraindications: Dr. Lawrence James Williamson

<p>Every doctor is entitled to a bad day, even a bad week.</p><p><a href="http://www2.dca.ca.gov/pls/wllpub/WLLQRYNA$LCEV2.QueryView?P_LICENSE_NU…. Lawrence James Williamson</a> (California License No. 73495), a family doctor in Windsor, Calif., has been having a very bad year.</p><p>In May 2008, Williamson was told he was not entitled to what he apparently thought was a free brunch at a Las Vegas hotel. He did something many denied a free meal have considered doing. He threw a fit, according to the Medical Board of California.</p>

Oprah sells mind-body snake oil to the masses

<p>The June 8 edition of Newsweek has a must-read <a href="http://www.newsweek.com/id/200025">story</a&gt; about the world's most influential celebrity.</p><p><a href="http://www.newsweek.com/id/35197">Weston Kosova</a> and <a href="http://www.newsweek.com/id/33610">Pat Wingert</a> meticulously detail how Oprah Winfrey uses her show, her magazine and her Web site as a platform for some completely loony health advice, including needle-and-thread facelifts, avoiding vaccines, daily hormone injections into the vagina to stop aging and thinking positively as an alternative to surgery.</p>

Contraindications: Dr. Michael Charles Edwards

<p>When choosing doctors, people like to know the answers to a few basic questions. </p><p>"Do they have the right amount of experience?"</p><p>"Are they conveniently located?" </p><p>"Do they accept my insurance?"</p><p>Somewhere above, "Do they stock <a href="http://www.popularmechanics.com/">Popular Mechanics</a> in the lobby?" and below "Did they go to medical school?" might be these questions:</p><p>"Do they abuse drugs?"</p><p>"Are they honest?"</p>

Anecdotal evidence: Little details make a huge difference in story examples

<p>Don't you want to help this woman out?</p><p></p><p><i>Renata Celona lost both of her parents at a young age, victims of high blood pressure, the second leading preventable cause of death. </i></p><p></p><p><i>She checks her blood pressure at least once a day, avoids salt and tries to squeeze in trips to the gym between working two jobs and raising three kids on her own.</i></p><p></p><p><i>"I tell my kids that I am always going to be there for them," Celona, 47, says. "Even if I can't always pick them up from school, they know I will be tucking them into bed at night." </i></p><p></p>