Mary Chris Jaklevic
Patient Safety Leader
Mary Chris Jaklevic is AHCJ’s health beat leader for patient safety based in Chicago. She’s an independent journalist who has covered health care finance, clinical care and medical research for a variety of professional and consumer publications. Her interest in patient safety issues and the potential harms of medical interventions was honed by her experience as a contributor to HealthNewsReview.org, a project that aimed to improve health care journalism by critiquing the accuracy and balance of media messages about medical treatments and tests. She’s a longtime AHCJ member and served on the board for two terms.
“Whenever you’re covering a drug, device, test, or medical procedure, consider the potential downsides. No intervention is entirely without risk.”
Authored Posts
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Despite transparency, doctors accept billions from drug and device industry
This finding is a reminder for journalists to inquire whether clinician sources have financial disclosures that might bias their views.
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Tips for navigating the confusing world of maternal mortality surveillance
The U.S. has three different reporting systems to track maternal mortality — and their results frequently don’t agree.
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How the false narrative of skyrocketing maternal mortality gained traction
Numerous headlines declared that maternal mortality has been on the rise, but it wasn’t true. Here’s how flawed research misled…
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What to know about a new diabetes care accolade for hospitals
For journalists, the new designation offers a pathway to examine what local hospitals are doing to improve diabetes care.
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Chicago Tribune team exposes how the system fails to protect patients from sex abusers
Reporters Lisa Schencker and Emily Hoerner exposed how state regulators and hospitals fail to protect patients from sexual abuse.
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Patient safety indicators continue to lag post-pandemic
Patient safety indicators continue to lag from the pandemic downturn as federal officials tout their effort to improve patient safety.
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Why journalists should scrutinize the FDA’s accelerated drug approval process
Despite recent reforms, journalists still need to be diligent about covering the evidence on which accelerated approvals are often based.
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Will Biden follow his experts’ advice for reducing medical errors?
Takeaways for journalists from the White House advisory committee’s recommendations to improve patient safety.
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State databases pose challenges but can yield powerful insights
Learn how to obtain and use state-collected hospital discharge data to report stories about health care quality.
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TikTok’s hormone hokum is hurting people, experts say
Endocrinology experts say that TikTok influencers are spreading harmful misinformation about “hormone balancing.”