List date(s) this work was published or aired.
Published online May 7, 2012 and ran in the June 2012 print edition of Becker’s Hospital Review.
Provide a brief synopsis of the story or stories, including any significant findings.
The article discusses the changing role of the acute-care hospital in the American healthcare spectrum. It discusses the effects retail clinics, population health and preventive medicine, provider consolidation and higher consumer expectations are having on hospitals that have traditionally focused on inpatient care.
Explain types of documents, data or Internet resources used. Were FOI or public records act requests required? How did this affect the work?
Documents used for this report include previously published newspaper articles (New York Times), studies (Journal of the American Medical Association and Cancer) and raw statistics and data provided by a healthcare analytics firm.
Explain types of human sources used.
Experts contributed their commentary via phone interviews. Live sources included a hospital chief medical officer, an economist with University of Southern California and two leaders from the healthcare analytics from Sg2.
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.
There has not been a correction or clarification issued.
Advice to other journalists planning a similar story or project.
I found it helpful to talk to experts from different fields and backgrounds on the topic, as the economist brought a different perspective from that of the chief medical officer or analytics experts. Finding the common threads in each perspective helped bring the article together.