Provide names of other journalists involved.
Editing by Scott Lebar. Graphics by Sharon Okada.
List date(s) this work was published or aired.
11-Mar-12
Provide a brief synopsis of the story or stories, including any significant findings.
The number of Northern California hospital stays resulting in charges of $1 million or more rose sevenfold in the past decade, from 430 in 2000 to almost 3,000 during 2010, according to a Bee review of new data from the Office of Statewide Health Planning and Development.
Explain types of documents, data or Internet resources used. Were FOI or public records act requests required? How did this affect the work?
Obtained a database showing roughly 3 million hospital discharges by requesting records from the state. Sifted through those records to isolate large hospital bills and then used database management software to find commonalities among the large bills.
Explain types of human sources used.
Spoke with several local residents who underwent procedures resulting in large hospital bills. Found them by combing through personal fundraiser web sites, then interviewed and verified their stories.
Results:
Some readers offered financial support to one of the patients profiled in the story.
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.
No corrections.
Advice to other journalists planning a similar story or project.
Get the hospital discharge database maintained by your state. There are loads of stories within it.