What a New Doctor Learned About Medical Mistakes From Her Mom’s Death

Dr. Elaine Goodman says hospital culture has to embrace the notion that reporting and tracking medical errors are a positive, not punitive, step: “It’s not enough just to have caring, qualified people to keep the patient safe.”

How You Can Help ProPublica Cover Patient Safety

More than 2,000 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

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

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

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

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

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

New report analyzes the cost of medical waste in America.

Author: Health Care Reform Is No Solution to Patient Harm

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

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

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.

To Stent Or Not To Stent, That Is In Question

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?

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

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?

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

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?

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.