It's likely you've read some of the stories about health professionals gone wrong in recent months. Blythe Bernhard and Jeremy Kohler of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch found that patients are kept in the dark about problems with their doctors and hospitals and that Missouri's disciplinary system seems geared toward protecting doctors’ livelihoods. Charles Ornstein and Tracy Weber of ProPublica reported that patients suffered as problem nurses were kept on the job in California and that hundreds of state agencies have failed to report disciplined caregivers to a federal database. Bill Heisel at ReportingOnHealth.org has chronicled many instances in his "Doctors Behaving Badly" series.
Now we have some tips for AHCJ members everywhere who want to check up on the medical professionals in their area – and the boards that regulate them.
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A tip sheet from Weber and Ornstein, How well does your state oversee nurses (and pharmacists, dentists, psychologists…)?, covers questions to ask regulatory boards, how to evaluate such boards, how to find cases the boards haven't acted on and more.
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Weber's presentation from Health Journalism 2011 shows examples of stories that can be done.
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Bernhard and Kohler wrote a tip sheet about how to research health professionals that includes instructions on using the National Practitioner Data Bank, as well as other places to look for evidence of wrongdoing by medical professionals.
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Kohler's article for AHCJ detailed how they tracked down a doctor who removed the wrong kidney from a patient, with tips on what data and documents proved useful.
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A questionnaire about Bernhard and Kohler's series offers advice for other reporters interested in working on a similar project.
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A questionnaire about Heisel's series reveals how he did the reporting, as well as advice for other reporters.
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"Predatory Doctors," a series by Chicago Tribune reporter Megan Twohey, revealed that Illinois authorities have failed to stop predatory doctors from practicing even when there's been evidence of sexual abuse or rape. A questionnaire about the series details what documents and sources she used for her reporting.
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Lisa Chedekel, of the Connecticut Health Investigative Team, found that several doctors were practicing freely in the state after being disciplined or sanctioned in neighboring states. Her questionnaire includes information about what licensing board records she used.
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James T. Mulder of The (Syracuse, N.Y.) Post-Standard reported that New York rarely takes disciplinary action against dentists, even when they are deemed a public threat. His questionnaire suggests sources for reporters looking into dentists in their states.
