1. Provide the title of your story or series and the names of the journalists involved.
The Times and Trials of Dr. Ahmed By Robert Weisman, Globe Staff
2. List date(s) this work was published or aired.
25-Apr-10
3. Provide a brief synopsis of the story or stories, including any significant findings.
The legend of New England Baptist Hospital physician Dr. A. Razzaque Ahmed, a specialist in rare blistering diseases, has been echoing around the Boston medical world for years, with some professionals dismissing him as a quack and many patients calling him their savior. To get to the bottom of the story, Robert Weisman interviewed dozens of patients, colleagues and former colleagues, Medicare and law enforcement officials, as well as Ahmed himself, and painted a nuanced portrait of a man who is both a convicted felon and is credited for saving the lives and sight of hundreds of people.
4. Explain types of documents, data or Internet resources used. Were FOI or public records act requests required? How did this affect the work?
The reporter read through the voluminous public court documents from Ahmed's long-running case.
5. Explain types of human sources used.
The story was reported from personal interviews with Ahmed, his patients, medical professionals, and regulatory and law enforcement authorities. Many of these people spoke only on background or on condition of anonymity.
6. Results (if any).
A month after the story appeared, a federal judge ruled that Medicare had acted properly when it revoked the billing rights of Dr. Ahmed. The doctor continues to seek reinstatement from Medicare.
7. Follow-up (if any). Have you run a correction or clarification on the report or has anyone come forward to challenge its accuracy? If so, please explain.
The Globe is continuing to follow Dr. Ahmed's legal odyssey. There have been no corrections or clarification.
8. Advice to other journalists planning a similar story or project.
Don't be deterred by the complexity of a story, especially when it involves hundreds of pages of court documents and conflicting testimony. Sometimes telling a nuanced tale without establishing a clear hero or villain works better than a cut-and-dry story, and this was one of those cases.