By Ana B. Ibarra
PHOENIX – Health care data are increasingly being collected by nonprofits and private companies as part of their work and business – the good news for reporters is this data can be easily accessible and at no cost.
As long as it’s used responsibly, data collected by commercial entities can often help journalists write about an issue in a quicker and more timely manner, said Casey Ross, national correspondent at Stat News, during a panel at a Health Journalism 2018. “You don’t always have to FOIA Medicaid and wait six months,” he said.
Ross was joined by Jim Rivas of Doximity, an online network of more than 1 million medical professionals in the U.S., and Josh Gray, vice president of athenaResearch and health care reporter Felice J. Freyer of The Boston Globe, who moderated the panel.
So what kind of information is available to reporters? What kind of stories could result from this? And what should reporters keep in mind when using this data? Below are notes and tips shared by panelists.
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Reporters can find data on physician compensation, gender pay gap among physicians, and languages spoken by doctors, for example, through Doximity. The company often posts its latest research on its press release page, but if reporters are looking for something not listed, they can inquire whether the data they are looking for is available.
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Doximity runs its studies through academics, including health care economists, Rivas said. The company can connect reporters to these academics.
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Doximity benefits from collecting this data because the information helps its clients – for example, physicians looking to compare compensation in different areas can also use this data.
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athenaResearch uses data from the athenahealth network, which is made up of more than 100,000 providers, to track physician performance as well as trends in U.S health care. “We have some footprint in all 50 states,” Gray said. “We capture hundreds of metrics…what prescription did the doctor write? What insurance coverage does the patient have? How much did the doctor get paid?” etc.
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Reporters can also find data on disease trends, like how much flu is happening around the country, inappropriate prescription of antibiotics and gender pay gaps, through athenaResearch. Take this flu tracking dashboard, for example. Users can find the number of doctor visits in athenahealth’s network related to the flu in each state for the 2017-18 season.
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Reporters can write national, statewide or local stories using such data. Accessing this information can help journalists report stories about quality of care and business trends, said Ross.
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A strong story will often combine this data with what the reporter is seeing on the ground, including input from local physicians and patients.
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As to where else reporters can find this type of data – Ross suggests advocacy organizations like the March of Dimes, which does an annual report on preterm birth; private businesses like vendors of medical equipment; and more traditionally, government groups like CMS or the FDA.
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Data also lends itself to visual opportunities, such as charts and interactive graphics, which can give stories some appeal that words alone can’t, Ross said. This can help keep the reader engaged.
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Reporters should ask these groups for the raw data, which would help in building some of these graphics. Raw data should be readily available and most organizations should be able to share that with reporters. “If they can’t then that’s a sign that maybe you shouldn’t be working with them,” Ross said.
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Of course, it’s important to keep in mind of the caveats that come with reporting on these data. Ross recommended that reporters ask themselves a few questions: Does the data have real news value? What is the motivation of the groups providing the data? How was the data collected? And, what’s missing from the data?
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Lastly, here’s an example of a data-driven story in which Ross worked with Doximity to show that female doctors are paid significantly less than male physicians.
(Note: In its efforts for more public data about physician residency programs, AHCJ has worked with Doximity Inc. to provide members the first comprehensive national research on residency programs. Doximity, in collaboration with U.S. News & World Report, granted AHCJ members access to its complete 2014 research.)
