How You Can Help ProPublica Cover Patient Safety

Jan. 4, 10:50 a.m.

More than 1,300 people — patients, doctors, nurses — have joined our Facebook group to debate causes and solutions to the problem of patients being harmed while receiving care.

Snooping On the X-ray Tech: A Patient’s Dilemma

Dec. 4, 2012, 11:45 a.m.

What a Failed Vegas Sex Pill and The Meningitis Outbreak Have In Common

Oct. 10, 2012, 12:26 p.m.

Drugs produced at ‘compounding’ pharmacies — like the steroids suspected of 15 meningitis deaths — are exempt from the safety checks that mass-produced pharmaceuticals receive.

Why Patients Don’t Report Medical Errors

Sept. 25, 2012, 10:34 a.m.

Patient safety flaws remain hidden if no one finds out about them. Now, a federal health care quality agency is planning a new effort to encourage disclosure of medical mistakes.

How You Can Help ProPublica Investigate Health Care Quality

Sept. 18, 2012, 2:36 p.m.

Be part of the patient safety conversation, get regular updates and share stories or views.

Resource: What To Do If You’ve Suffered Harm

Sept. 18, 2012, 2:32 p.m.

Six recommended steps to take if you’ve suffered harm in a medical facility.

A Costly Equation: Medical Dollars Wasted Are Greater Than the U.S. Defense Budget

Sept. 18, 2012, 2:31 p.m.

New report analyzes the cost of medical waste in America.

Why Patient Harm Is One of the Leading Causes of Death in America

Sept. 18, 2012, 2:30 p.m.

In his new book, surgeon Marty Makary gives his thoughts on why patient harm persists, and what to do about it. He sat down with us for a Q&A.

Author: Health Care Reform Is No Solution to Patient Harm

Sept. 18, 2012, 2:30 p.m.

Patient safety advocate Rosemary Gibson thinks the too-big-to-fail health care industry lacks accountability and a forceful mandate to improve.

To Stent Or Not To Stent, That Is In Question

Aug. 8, 2012, 12:41 p.m.

As Hospital Corporation of America comes under scrutiny, experts say unnecessary heart procedures are common, costing taxpayers, driving insurance premiums and putting patients at risk.

Why Can’t Medicine Seem to Fix Simple Mistakes?

July 20, 2012, 10:37 a.m.

The death of 12-year-old Rory Staunton from septic shock prompted NYU’s Langone Medical Center to revamp its emergency room procedures to address a startling lapse. History shows that the profession is unlikely to learn from this mistake.

Cardiac Arrest: Hospital Refuses to Give Widow her Husband’s Heart

July 12, 2012, 2:06 p.m.

After eight years, the hospital that performed Jerry Carswell’s autopsy acknowledges it has his heart, but still won’t give it to his wife.

Could The Supreme Court’s Health Care Ruling Kill Patient Safety Reforms?

June 15, 2012, 2:36 p.m.

In all the talk about the Supreme Court’s impending health care reform ruling, one question is often overlooked: What might happen to the many patient safety and quality of care provisions sprinkled through the Affordable Care Act?

Chatting With the Reporters Behind Dollars for Docs

May 30, 2012, 6:56 a.m.

Charlie Ornstein and Tracy Weber talk about the money docs get from drug companies, and why it matters.

Why Can’t Linda Carswell Get Her Husband’s Heart Back?

Dec. 15, 2011, 12:44 p.m.

For almost eight years, Linda Carswell has been trying to find out how her husband died. Her quest has led to a fraud judgment against a hospital as well as autopsy reform in Texas. But she’s still seeking answers — and the return of his heart.

Without Autopsies, Hospitals Bury Their Mistakes

Dec. 15, 2011, 12:36 p.m.

Hospital autopsies have become a rarity. As a result, experts say, diagnostic errors are missed, opportunities to improve medical treatment are lost, and health-care statistics are skewed.

Health-Care Reform Rules Would Restrict Public Reporting

Sept. 15, 2011, 9:46 a.m.

Last year’s health-care reform law promised to use Medicare billing data to increase public reporting about the performance of doctors and health-care facilities. Now, proposed government rules could prevent consumer groups from getting the data and would give medical providers the right to review any quality findings in advance.

Doctor’s Lawsuit Targets Parents of Patient Who Overdosed

Aug. 26, 2011, 9:57 a.m.

The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration stripped Dr. Kevin Buckwalter of his ability to prescribe narcotics, citing the death of eight patients. Now Buckwalter claims a malpractice suit filed by the parents of Andrea Duncan, who died in 2005, is an abuse of the legal process.

Colorado Hits Body-Imaging Chain With a Hefty Fine

Aug. 8, 2011, 3:48 p.m.

Heart Check America, which marketed controversial body scans to consumers, treated patients without doctors’ orders and may have exposed patients unnecessarily to radiation, regulators say.