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Health Care

Patient Safety

Exploring Quality of Care in the U.S.

More than 1 million patients suffer harm each year while being treated in the U.S. health care system. Even more receive substandard care or costly overtreatment. Our ongoing investigation of patient safety features in-depth reporting, discussion and tools for patients.

72 stories published since 2012

Doctor Confesses: I Lied to Protect Colleague in Malpractice Suit

New Report: Problem Care Harms Almost One-Third of Rehab Hospital Patients

Study Urges CDC to Revise Count of Deaths from Medical Error

Watch Live: ProPublica Forum on Nation’s Broken Patient Safety System

When a Brain Surgeon Becomes a Malpractice Lawyer

How Denmark Dumped Medical Malpractice and Improved Patient Safety

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

Orthopedic Board Hasn’t Adopted Surgeon Scorecard After All

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

Our Rebuttal to RAND’s Critique of Surgeon Scorecard

Editor’s Note: ‘Dr. Abscess’ and Why Surgeon Scorecard Matters

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

Surgeon Scorecard and Cancer Centers

Surgeon Scorecard

How We Measured Surgical Complications

Why We Are Publishing Surgeons’ Complication Rates

What Experts Are Saying About Surgeon Scorecard

Key Questions We Considered in Creating Surgeon Scorecard

Alleged Patient Safety Kickbacks Lead To $1 Million Settlement

Unapproved, but Used in Surgery

Patient Safety Journal Adjusts After an Eye-Opening Scandal

Q&A: What Can U.S. Health Care Learn from the Ebola Outbreak?

We’re Still Not Tracking Patient Harm

Beyond Ratings: More Tools Coming to Pick Your Doctor

Rocky Mountain High or Reefer Madness? Legal Pot in Colorado Comes with Risks

So You’ve Become a Patient Safety Statistic – Now What?

Ad Endorsing da Vinci Robot Violated U of Illinois Policies, Review Finds

One Third of Skilled Nursing Patients Harmed in Treatment

Health Quality Group Rethinks Drug Endorsement

Citing ‘Distraction,’ Quality Forum CEO Resigns Board Seats

When a University Hospital Backs a Surgical Robot, Controversy Ensues

Payments to CEO Raise New Conflicts at Top Health Quality Group

Senator Cites ‘Serious Concerns,’ Demands National Quality Forum Records

Hidden Financial Ties Rattle Top Health Quality Group

Ten Patient Stories: When Attorneys Refused My Medical Malpractice Case

Patient Harm: When An Attorney Won’t Take Your Case

Five Takeaways: Why Doctors Stay Mum About Mistakes Their Colleagues Make

Why Doctors Stay Mum About Mistakes Their Colleagues Make

How Many Die From Medical Mistakes in U.S. Hospitals?

One Step Closer To Getting Her Husband’s Heart Back

Prescriber Checkup Q&A

MuckReads Podcast: The Good Nurse

The Story Behind Our Hospital Interactive

Your Hospital May Be Hazardous To Your Health

When Harm in the Hospital Follows You Home

Podcast: ProPublica Explores Patient Safety

A Patient’s Guide: How To Stay Safe In a Hospital

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

How You Can Help ProPublica Cover Patient Safety

How We Used Facebook to Power Our Investigation Into Patient Harm

What We’re Watching

During Donald Trump’s second presidency, ProPublica will focus on the areas most in need of scrutiny. Here are some of the issues our reporters will be watching — and how to get in touch with them securely.

Learn more about our reporting team. We will continue to share our areas of interest as the news develops.

Photo of Sharon Lerner
Sharon Lerner

I cover health and the environment and the agencies that govern them, including the Environmental Protection Agency.

Photo of Andy Kroll
Andy Kroll

I cover justice and the rule of law, including the Justice Department, U.S. attorneys and the courts.

Photo of Melissa Sanchez
Melissa Sanchez

I report on immigration and labor, and I am based in Chicago.

Photo of Jesse Coburn
Jesse Coburn

I cover housing and transportation, including the companies working in those fields and the regulators overseeing them.

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    Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy Sold Stocks Two Days Before Trump Announced a Plan for Reciprocal Tariffs

    Duffy is the second member of Trump’s cabinet who sold securities shortly before the president’s tariff announcements sent markets plunging. A spokesperson for Duffy said an account manager made the trades and that Duffy had no input on the timing.

    Helene’s Unheard Warnings

    As Hurricane Helene barreled toward Yancey County in North Carolina, communities along the Cane River in the Black Mountains were particularly vulnerable. But there were no evacuation orders, and few grasped what was coming.

    A Teacher Dragged a 6-Year-Old With Autism by His Ankle. Federal Civil Rights Officials Might Not Do Anything.

    The Garrison School is part of a special education district that had students arrested at the highest rate in the country. It had pledged to change how it disciplines kids after a ProPublica-Chicago Tribune investigation and subsequent federal probe.

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    Connecticut Towing Companies Use Belongings Left in Cars as Leverage to Collect Fees, Drivers Say

    The Connecticut DMV allows owners to get back into towed cars to retrieve items that are essential to their health and welfare. But people have lost work equipment, car seats, important documents and priceless mementos.

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    “Incalculable” Damage: How a “We Buy Ugly Houses” Franchise Left a Trail of Financial Wreckage Across Texas

    Charles Carrier is accused of orchestrating a yearslong Ponzi scheme, bilking tens of millions of dollars from both wealthy investors and older people with modest incomes. Despite signs of trouble, HomeVestors didn’t intervene.