http://www.healthjournalism.org/blog Keeping journalists informed – and connected. Fri, 03 Feb 2012 19:33:00 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en Thanks to Gary Schwitzer for drawing attention to a study, published in BMJ, which analyzes the impact medical journal press releases have on actual press coverage of studies. The authors begin with a somewhat gratifying hypothesis, writing that "Although it is easy to blame journalists for poor quality reporting, problems with ... http://www.healthjournalism.org/blog/2012/02/study-good-press-releases-contribute-to-good-health-journalism/ Building off a state health department report showing that, as The Morning Call's Tim Darragh wrote, "Nurses at St. Luke's Hospital three times in 2010 and 2011 improperly programmed patient-controlled pumps to deliver pain medication, causing patients to overdose themselves," Darragh dug deep into each incident, uncovering patient details and ... http://www.healthjournalism.org/blog/2012/02/programming-errors-led-to-overdoses-with-pain-medicine-pumps/ More than 30 attendees heard local experts sketch the particular challenges and issues presented by the Affordable Care Act in California in the latest "Implementing health reform in the states" panel, hosted by AHCJ's San Francisco Bay Area chapter on Wednesday night at the San Francisco Chronicle. The panel, one of ... http://www.healthjournalism.org/blog/2012/02/experts-offer-story-ideas-for-covering-health-reform/ One of the best things about working at AHCJ is the chance to see the broad range of really strong coverage our members produce. Whether I'm reading stories about the ways money influences how medicine is practiced, uncovering the mistreatment of vulnerable people, looking at how pollution is affecting public health ... http://www.healthjournalism.org/blog/2012/02/recognizing-best-health-journalism-can-be-inspiring/ KUOW's John Ryan used federal data and a few key sources to delve deep into issues surrounding one of the few remaining sources of airborne lead in the United States, a leaded aviation fuel known as "avgas." In the process, he reveals damage that even low levels of lead exposure ... http://www.healthjournalism.org/blog/2012/02/leaded-aviation-fuel-a-threat-to-public-health-children/ Everything time we think prescription drug abuse stories have peaked, something comes along to push the story further. This time, InvestigateWest's Carol Smith sets herself apart by starting from square one and clearly explaining the origins and dimensions of Washington's particularly nasty drug issues, tracing back each facet of the ... http://www.healthjournalism.org/blog/2012/01/investigation-delves-into-washs-prescription-drug-problem/ Here's a recent story that touches on a whole lot of themes in health reform – without getting bogged down in a lot of jargon. Value-based purchasing. Evidence-based medicine. Shared decision-making. Jackie Crosby of the Minneapolis Star-Tribune writes about how a Minnesota insurer, HealthPartners, has introduced a new approach for patients with low ... http://www.healthjournalism.org/blog/2012/01/article-looks-at-reform-concepts-put-into-practice/ It's not easy to write well about the nitty-gritty details of aging – the wear and tear on bones and joints, the deterioration of seeing and hearing, the gradual onset of frailty in barely observable increments. But everyone encounters this when they've lived long enough; physical decline is a fundamental part of ... http://www.healthjournalism.org/blog/2012/01/on-balance-lazar-explains-a-little-discussed-fundamental-fact-of-aging/ Writing for the local NPR StateImpact outlet, Logan Layden looks at how dental programs for the needy are coping in the absence of state funding. In the 2010 state budget crisis, Layden writes, "Funding for several programs, including Dentists for the Disabled and Elderly in Need of Treatment, was totally ... http://www.healthjournalism.org/blog/2012/01/with-state-funds-gone-okla-dental-programs-still-serve-needy/ Reporting for Al Jazeera English's People & Power, Sarah Macdonald tells how her own battle with breast cancer led her to shave her head, hide a camera and go undercover to investigate south-of-the-border clinics touting alternative cancer therapies. The thriving sub-industry of alternative Tijuana cancer clinics relies primarily on palliative care ... http://www.healthjournalism.org/blog/2012/01/survivor-goes-undercover-in-tijuana-cancer-clinics/