Olga Pierce

Reporter

Photo of Olga Pierce

Olga Pierce is a reporter, specializing in data-driven stories. Previously, she was deputy data editor at ProPublica.

She is a winner of the 2015 Deadline Club Award for Medical Reporting for her work on patient harm. In 2011 she received a Livingston Award for National Reporting and an honorable mention for the Toner Prize for Excellence in Political Reporting, both for her reporting on increasing corporate interference in the drawing of congressional districts. She also shared 2011 Scripps Howard and Society of Business Editors and Writers awards as part of a team focusing on foreclosures.

Olga has appeared on CBS News and C-SPAN, and her stories have been featured in the New York Times, USA Today, Chicago Tribune and the Hindustan Times in New Delhi.

She is a graduate of the Stabile Investigative Journalism Seminar at Columbia University, where she won a Horton Prize for health reporting. Olga is fluent in Czech and has a bachelor’s in international economics from Georgetown University.

Here’s How ProPublica Analyzed Bud Frazier’s Medicare Outcomes

Our analysis showed that Frazier, a heart surgery legend, had one of the highest one-year death rates in the nation for left ventricular assist device implantations in Medicare from 2010-2015.

‘Partisan’ Gerrymandering Is Still About Race

The Wisconsin case before the Supreme Court claims to be about partisanship. But race is a factor in this case and many others nationwide.

Nothin’ but Debt: Which NCAA Tournament Schools Give Low-Income Students the Best Shot?

Instead of basketball skill, our bracket is based on five factors that measure each school’s ability to graduate low-income students with little debt.

Alternative School Enrollment and Warning Signs

Which districts have large numbers of students in alternative schools, and where are those schools potentially problematic?

Methodology: How We Analyzed Alternative Schools Data

Using federal and local data, ProPublica examined how some alternative schools shortchange students and at times become a silent release valve for schools straining under the pressure of accountability reform.

Study Urges CDC to Revise Count of Deaths from Medical Error

If not for flawed tracking, medical mistakes would be the third-leading cause of death, researchers at Johns Hopkins say.

How Denmark Dumped Medical Malpractice and Improved Patient Safety

In the U.S., patients harmed during medical care have few avenues for redress. The Danes chose to forget about fault and focus on what’s fair.

Patient Safety Voices Reporting Recipe

More than 1 million patients suffer harm each year in U.S. health care facilities. Often, their harm isn’t acknowledged even as they live with the consequences. ProPublica set out to capture their stories. Here is what we learned.

The Voices of Patient Harm

More than 1 million patients suffer harm each year in U.S. health care facilities. Often, their harm isn’t acknowledged even as they live with the consequences. ProPublica set out to capture their stories. Here is what we learned.

A Trail of Medical Errors Ends in Grief, But No Answers

Paula Schulte couldn't survive a cascade of medical mistakes. After that, her family couldn't get accountability.

Patient Safety Voices Advice

More than 1 million patients suffer harm each year in U.S. health care facilities. Often, their harm isn’t acknowledged even as they live with the consequences. ProPublica set out to capture their stories. Here is what we learned.

Orthopedic Board Will Use Surgeon Scorecard to Help Re-certify Docs

The American Board of Orthopaedic Surgery says ProPublica’s analysis can help identify surgeons with a high rate of complications.

Our Rebuttal to RAND’s Critique of Surgeon Scorecard

The think tank claims Scorecard’s methods aren’t reliable, but its commentary is undermined by supposition, conflicts of interest and a lack of evidence.

For a Surgeon With a History of Complications, a Felony Past

As a medical student, Florida spine surgeon Constantine Toumbis stabbed a friend outside a bar. Documents show he omitted or misrepresented his record in regulatory filings.

Surgeon Scorecard and Cancer Centers

The names of five cancer centers were missing from Surgeon Scorecard. We have updated the database so you can now find them.

Surgeon Scorecard

We calculated complication rates for surgeons performing one of eight elective procedures under Medicare, carefully adjusting for differences in patient health, age and hospital quality. Use this database to know more about a surgeon before your operation.

How We Measured Surgical Complications

The methodology for our analysis of surgical complication rates.

Making the Cut: Why Choosing the Right Surgeon Matters Even More Than You Know

A ProPublica analysis of nearly 17,000 surgeons finds stark differences in complications rates for some of the most routine elective procedures.

Unapproved, but Used in Surgery

A firm sold 18,000 knee-replacement tools before the government called a halt.

The Two Things That Rarely Happen After a Medical Mistake

Patients seldom are told or get an apology when they are harmed during medical care, according to a new study based on results from ProPublica’s Patient Harm Questionnaire.

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