Association of Health Care Journalists

A Cochrane conversation on using systematic reviews
2022-06-29 01:00 (America/New_York)
June 29, 2 p.m. ET
In the era of big data, some think that all you need for a systematic review is enough data. Not true, say Cochrane experts, who apply a rigorous methodology to their systematic reviews to minimize bias and produce more reliable, higher quality research findings. Journalists who attend this webinar will learn:

The difference between a study, a review, meta-analyses, and systematic reviews

What’s so great about systematic reviews

How to read a systematic review and evaluate its quality

What to care about in the summary of findings table

How to report on a systematic review to help your readers make informed health decisions

Cochrane’s protocol for assessing health evidence and how it compares to others’.

View the webcast—Slides (892 KB .pdf)
Lisa Bero
Tara Haelle
Professor Lisa Bero is a researcher in evidence-based health care and is internationally known for her studies on the integrity of clinical and basic research evidence that is used to influence health policy. She is affiliate professor, University of Sydney, where she founded the multidisciplinary Evidence, Policy and Influence Collaborative at the Charles Perkins Centre, focusing on bias and its influence on the integrity of research. She is a professor of medicine and public health and chief scientist, Center for Bioethics and Humanities, University of Colorado. She has contributed to Cochrane as an author, editor, center director, and member and co-chair of Cochrane’s Governing Board, and is currently senior editor, research integrity. She is also a longtime contributor to the work of the World Health Organization, including serving as a member of the Guideline Review Committee, and as chair of the Essential Medicines Committee.

Vaccines and Related Biological Products Advisory Committee
2022-06-28 01:00
The FDA’s Advisory Committee will meet in open session to discuss whether and how the SARS-CoV-2 strain composition of COVID-19 vaccines should be modified.
The meeting will include slide presentations with audio components to allow the presentation of materials in a manner that most closely resembles an in-person advisory committee meeting.
When/Where: 8:30 a.m. – 5:00 p.m. EST, Tuesday, June 28, 2022 (Online)
For more information and to participate, visit the FDA’s website.

Protecting Immunocompromised Patients through Effective Prevention and Treatment
2022-06-27 01:00
Join the National Foundation for Infectious Diseases (NFID) for a webinar addressing current recommendations to protect adult immunocompromised patients through effective prevention and treatment of infectious diseases. Discussion topics will include current U.S. vaccination recommendations, gaps in immunization coverage among immunocompromised adult patients, and strategies to overcome challenges. Speakers will also address questions submitted by participants, as time allows.
NFID Medical Director William Schaffner, M.D., will moderate the discussion with Kathleen Dooling, MD, MPH, Medical Officer in the Division of Viral Diseases at the CDC and Camille Kotton, MD, Clinical Director of Transplant Infectious Disease and Immunocompromised Host Program at Massachusetts General Hospital.
When/Where: 1:00 PM EST, Monday, June 27, 2022
For more information and to register for this event, visit this webpage.

ECRI holds webinar on CPAP recall
2022-06-23 01:00
The nonprofit group ECRI will hold a webinar June 23 at noon ET about the 2021 recall alert for certain Philips Respironics issued a recall alert for certain CPAP, BiPAP and mechanical ventilator devices due to potential health risks. Polyester-based polyurethane (PE-PUR) foam within the devices can break down, leading to the potential ingestion of black pieces of foam or certain chemicals, while using the device, ECRI said. Although the recall was issued a year ago, a full resolution has not been provided. On the webinar, experts will discuss the cause of the problem and recommendations for helping patients.
When/Where: Noon EST, Wednesday, June 23, 2022
To register, vist the ECRI website.

Data and Policy: Evidence-Based Opioid Use Disorder Treatment
2022-06-23 01:00
If you are covering the opioid epidemic, join this free webinar hosted by The Foundation for Opioid Response Efforts to explain what data is showing about how best to treat opioid use disorder and what policies should be enacted. Speakers include: Arjun Venkatesh, M.D., M.B.A., M.H.S., associate professor and chief of the section of administration in the Department of Emergency Medicine at Yale University, Lisa Clemens-Cope, Ph.D.,, senior research fellow in the Health Policy Center at the Urban Institute, Peter Treitler, MSW, research specialist in the Center for Health Services Research at the Rutgers Institute for Health, Health Care Policy and Aging Research and Bradley Stein, M.D., Ph.D., director of the Opioid Policies, Tools, and Information Center (OPTIC) at the RAND Corporation.
When/Where: 3 p.m. EST, Thursday, June 23, 2022
Visit this webpage to register.

Reporting the facts on abortion
2022-06-22 01:00
June 22, noon ET
Women in many U.S. states are facing increased legal obstacles to abortion, a trend that has been accelerating in recent years with laws now requiring waiting periods and “counseling,” among other stipulations. A pending Supreme Court decision is expected to further limit access by banning the procedure outright in many states.
To help better inform your reporting, using science and evidence-based information, AHCJ will hold a webinar with Nisha Verma, M.D., a fellow with the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG). Patient safety core topic leader Kerry Dooley Young will host the webinar. This session will help journalists know what to ask when presented with research on abortion, particularly medical abortions. The webinar will also explore how political agendas have skewed research. Verma will also address the potential of telehealth in states where abortion is not restricted.
View the webcast
Nisha Verma
Kerry Dooley Young
Nisha Verma, M.D., M.P.H., F.A.C.O.G., was born in Greensboro, N.C., and received her bachelor’s in Biology and Anthropology and her medical degree from the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill. She graduated from Obstetrics and Gynecology residency at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center and completed her Complex Family Planning fellowship and Master’s in Public Health degree at Emory University.
She is currently serving as the Darney-Landy Fellow at the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists with their Strategies for Healthy Equity team and provides abortion care at Planned Parenthoods in the Delaware area. She is also Adjunct Assistant Professor in the Department of Gynecology and Obstetrics at Emory University.
She is particularly passionate about improving access to reproductive health care in the southeast United States, her home region, and has expertise in effective messaging techniques on complicated topics such as abortion.

Monkeypox update
2022-06-21 01:00
Monkeypox cases have now been confirmed in more than a dozen U.S. states. SciLine’s next media briefing will cover: science basics about the virus that causes Monkeypox, including transmission dynamics and current U.S. case spread; prevention and treatment options, including existing vaccines and their limitations; and lessons learned from COVID-19 and other outbreaks that can inform the country’s public health response to Monkeypox.
Featured experts include three scientists: Dr. Anne Rimoin of the University of California, Los Angeles; Dr. Inger Damon of the CDC. Dr. Amira Roess of George Mason University. They will brief reporters and then take questions. The discussion will be moderated by SciLine Director Rick Weiss.
When/Where: 2-3 p.m. EST, Tuesday, June 21 (online)
Visit this webpage to register. https://sciline.org/public-health/monkeypox-update/

What’s Next in Home and Community-Based Services?
2022-06-17 01:00
During this webinar hosted by the Alliance for Health Policy,panelists will provide an overview of home and community-based services, including populations receiving these services, enrollment numbers, workforce challenges, benefits of HCBS and barriers to caring for complex populations. Speakers will also discuss recent federal policy measures taken to bolster HCBS as well as potential long-term policy levers to better improve this model.
When/Where: 12:00 to 1:30 p.m. EST, Friday, June 17 (online)
Check out this webpage for more information and to register.

Lunch and Learn (Virtual)
2022-06-16 01:00
Join us Thursday, June 16 for AHCJ’s Lunch & Learn on contracts. We’re going to support one another and talk about rights-grabbing clauses that are sneaking in. Bring questions comments and negotiation strategies!
When/Where: 1:00 p.m. ET, June 16 (virtual)
View the webcastMeeting ID: 961 8036 2044

Facts in a Time of Fiction: Reporting the truth amid lies and disinformation
2022-06-10 01:00
Journalists have long been charged with sorting fact from fiction through their reporting. But what happens when readers redefine what they see as truth and what they’ll accept as fact?
New York Times writer and author Elizabeth Williamson, whose critically-acclaimed book “Sandy Hook: An American Tragedy and the Battle for Truth” published this spring, will describe how she threaded together more than 400 interviews, 10,000 pages of court testimony and other records, and on-the-ground reporting to trace a line from conspiracy theories around Sandy Hook to Jan. 6, 2021.
Participants will learn to:

Identify how misinformation and political conspiracy theories have spread.
Work with sensitivity and clarity while reporting on conspiracy theories.
Pre-bunk conspiracy theories through early reporting.
Use trauma-informed reporting methods while working with people suffering tragedy.
Organize reporting and deep research to craft a long-form narrative.

When/Where: 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. EST, Friday, June 10, 2022 (virtual)
Register for free using this link.

Reporting in An Age of Lies and Disinformation
2022-06-10 01:00
“Journalists have long been charged with sorting fact from fiction through their reporting. But what happens when readers redefine what they see as truth and what they’ll accept as fact?” asks the National Press Club’s Journalism Institute.
In a one-hour webinar at 11:30 am ET on June 10, New York Times writer Elizabeth Williamson will share the insights she gained into how conspiracies grow as she reported and wrote her critically acclaimed book, “Sandy Hook: An American Tragedy and the Battle for Truth,” published this spring.
The institute says, “Participants will learn to:

Identify how misinformation and political conspiracy theories have spread;
Work with sensitivity and clarity while reporting on conspiracy theories;
Pre-bunk conspiracy theories through early reporting;
Use trauma-informed reporting methods while working with people suffering tragedy; and
Organize reporting and deep research to craft a long-form narrative.”

Registration is free.

Innovations in Healthy Aging 2022 Summit: Bridging Academia and Industry
2022-06-08 01:00
University of Arizona Health Sciences researchers and other leaders in the field of aging will discuss health care, legal and environmental issues as they relate to meeting the needs of a diverse, aging population. The event is free and open to the public; it’s hosted by Innovations in Healthy Aging, a strategic initiative of UArizona Health Sciences, Registration is required. To confirm attendance or to schedule interviews, contact Annisa Westcott at annisa@arizona.edu or 520-626-8447.
When/Where: 9:00 a.m.- 4:00 p.m. EST, June 8, at the University of Arizona Outreach and Collaboration in Washington D.C., and online.
Visit the organization’s site to register.

Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Markup
2022-06-08 01:00
The Senate’s (HELP) Committee is holding a special session to review and revise a bill that would make changes to Food and Drug Administration (FDA) policies. This session is known as a markup.
Titled the FDA Safety and Landmark Advancements (FDASLA) Act, this bill being marked up would reauthorize the existing laws that allow the FDA to get payments from companies for reviews of prescription drugs and medical devices. These user fees are steered toward keeping the FDA’s review operations adequately staffed to prevent delays in decisions on applications. (This 2021 report from the Congressional Research Service provides more details on the Prescription Drug User Fee Act (PDUFA.)
Congress reauthorizes the PDUFA law every five years. The current authorization expires in September, effectively setting a tough deadline for Congress. The reauthorization of the PDUFA law also provides a vehicle for members of Congress to make other changes in FDA policies. Among the proposals included in the draft bill are attempts to give the FDA more clear authority to compel drugmakers to prove that drugs cleared by accelerated approval truly offer a significant benefit to patients.
When/Where: 10:00 a.m EST, Wednesday, June 8, 2022 (online)
Check this link on the HELP page for the webcast.
See the HELP committee’s press release and section-by-section explainer of the bill.

Tick boom: A physician's forecast for summer '22
2022-06-08 01:00
Wednesday, June 8, noon ET
Ticks have proliferated – caused by the combination of overbuilding in previously forested areas, climate change and international trade.
We all know about the tick-borne disease – Lyme – which can cause debilitating nerve and other damage, but what are the new and emerging tick-borne diseases and where are they emerging? What does that mean for communities? What should reporters be writing about right now and what are the under covered stories related to tick-borne diseases? When will there be a vaccine for Lyme? What about the latest treatments and how can communities and individuals prevent getting bitten?
A long-time tick expert, physician and former co-chair of a national working group on tick borne diseases that advises the federal government will provide some answers. Please send your questions to bara@healthjournalism.org.
View the slides
John Aucott
Bara Vaida

Dr. John Aucott is an internist and Lyme disease expert in the Division of Rheumatology, and is the director of the Johns Hopkins Lyme Disease Clinical Research Center. With more than 15 years of research experience on the crippling effects of Lyme disease, he has published studies focusing on characteristics of early Lyme disease. His research is also focused on improved diagnostic testing and health related outcomes in Lyme disease. He is widely recognized an international expert in post-treatment Lyme disease syndrome. He is also former chair of the U.S. Health and Human Service’s department’s Tick-Borne Working Group that developed a set of recommended policies on preventing and responding to tick-borne diseases.

DIY Marketing for Independent Podcasts
2022-05-26 01:00
Whether you are an experienced podcaster or just starting out, you’ll have much to learn about cost-effective strategies for promoting your podcast from this virtual 90-minute webinar. It is aimed at independent podcasters with little to no marketing budget.
The instructor is Lynn Casper, the producer of the long-running queer music podcast, Homoground.
Sponsor: Association of Independents in Radio (AIR)
When/Where: Thursday, May 26, 2022 at 3:00 p.m. EST (Online)
Cost: Free for AIR members and $50 for non-members
Visit this website to register.

Hiding in Plain Sight: Documenting the crisis in kids’ mental health
2022-05-25 01:00
At 3 p.m. CST on May 25, AHCJ will offer a special webinar on an upcoming two-part film, produced by award-winning documentary filmmaker Ken Burns, on the crisis in children’s mental health.
The PBS film, “Hiding in Plain Sight: Youth Mental Illness,” is an intimate examination of a crisis that the American Academy of Pediatrics called a public health emergency in 2021. The documentary is anchored by the anguished voices of 20 young people, ages 11 to 27, who live with mental health conditions, as well as parents, teachers, friends, health care providers in their lives, along with mental health experts with deep knowledge of youth mental health.
What makes the film required viewing for health care reporters is its unusually frank and direct discussion of mental health among young people, whose voices aren’t often heard in reporting on this topic. They talk about the stigma of mental illness, how they hid their challenges and how their own personal crises unfolded. The result is a film that should advance the public’s understanding and awareness of the crisis and what can be done to help young people.
Scheduled to air on PBS stations on June 27 and June 28, the films were directed by brothers Erik and Christopher Loren Ewers, longtime members of the Ken Burns team and award-winning filmmakers in their own right. They will join AHCJ core topic leader for mental and behavioral health Katti Gray for a webinar discussion about how they gained the trust and confidence of their film subjects. Two of the young people profiled in the film, Collin Cord and Makalynn Powell, will join the discussion. The webinar audience will also see a short, sneak preview of the film.
View the webcast
Erik Ewers
Christopher Loren Ewers
Collin Cord
Makalynn Powell
Katti Gray

About the filmmakers:
Erik EwersCo-Director and Editor
Erik Ewers has worked with documentary filmmaker Ken Burns for more than 30 years, including nearly all of his single and multi-episodic films. He serves as Ken’s senior editor and as co-director and editor of Ewers Brothers Productions, a preferred collaborative company in the co-creation of Ken’s films.
Erik has been nominated for more than seven personal and program Emmy Awards and has won one editing Emmy and three program Emmys, as well as two prestigious ACE Eddie Award nominations and one ACE win for “Best Edited Documentary of 2015.” Erik is an expert in all aspects of filmmaking, having served as music producer, writer, director, film producer, picture editor, and sound effects, music, and dialogue editor.
In 2015, Erik collaborated with Ken to create the two-hour PBS film The Mayo Clinic: Faith, Hope, Science, serving as producer, director and editor. Their partnership continues in an upcoming miniseries on America’s mental health crisis.
Christopher Loren EwersCo-Director and Director of Photography
Christopher Loren Ewers has been working behind the camera for over 20 years. He studied cinematography at Boston University and photojournalism at the New England School of Photography, and has traveled the world exploring the human experience through the lens. His eclectic work includes a variety of subjects, formats and collaborators, from national networks like NBC and PBS to Fortune 500 brands like Apple, Coca-Cola, and IBM and to nonprofit organizations like the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and the Clinton Global Initiative.
However, it’s the unique mix of Chris’s film and journalism backgrounds that puts documentary filmmaking at the center of his work. His cinematography has been featured in each of Ken’s films since The Vietnam War.
Working with Ken as executive producer, Chris co-directed and served as Director of Photography on feature length documentary, The Mayo Clinic: Faith, Hope, Science, broadcast nationally on PBS in September 2018. He and brother Erik are currently co-directing a series of films exploring the mental health crisis, scheduled to air on PBS over a ten-year period beginning in 2022.

Antibiotic resistance: A looming public health crisis
2022-05-24 01:00
On Tuesday, May 24, Pew and The Hill will present a free virtual event examining the threats antibiotic-resistant infections, or ‘superbugs,’ pose for the future, and lessons learned from the COVID-19 pandemic.
Superbugs result in millions of infections and thousands of deaths every year in the United States, and globally, these infections are approaching a dangerous high. Already, these infections kill nearly 1.3 million people annually — more than HIV or malaria. The event will feature insights from leading experts and policymakers, including Sen. Michael Bennet (D-CO) and Rep. Drew Ferguson (R-GA), sponsors of the PASTEUR Act — a bill that would make significant progress in combatting superbugs in the U.S.
Register here, and follow Pew’s antibiotic resistance project on Twitter for news and updates.

Reporting and Sourcing
2022-05-19 01:00
Gathering the information you need to tell your story can mean finding sources to interview, searching the medical literature, and digging through archives, databases or social media. In our May 19 Lunch & Learn, we’ll dig into reporting and sourcing stories. Whether you’re reporting a fast-turnaround news story or a juicy feature, you’ll come away with plenty of helpful info
When/Where: 1:00 p.m. ET, May 19. (virtual)
View the webcastMeeting ID: 961 8036 2044

Deadline approaches for Fund for Investigative Journalism grants
2022-05-09 01:00
The next deadline to apply for grants from the fund, which reviews applications three or four times a year is Monday, May 9, 2022. Grants can be as much as $10,000 to cover expenses of investigations, including travel, research and equipment rental. Recipients can request editorial and legal help as they work on their projects. Applicants must supply a letter of commitment from a news outlet agreeing to publish the proposed story.

The fund is looking for stories “that break new ground and expose wrongdoing, such as corruption, malfeasance, or misuse of power – in the public and private sectors.”

The fund website has more details about the application process.

Captivating your readers from the first sentence
2022-04-29 01:00
The National Press Club’s Journalism Institute is hosting this one-hour workshop on how to perfect ledes and nut graphs. The workshop will:

Deconstruct the difference between ledes and nut graphs
Identify common mistakes in crafting nut graphs
Offer solutions that help an inclusive community connect your journalism to their lives

Julie Moos, the executive director of the Journalism Institute, is the instructor. As the former managing director of news at McClatchy, Moos was responsible for coaching and training reporters and editors in 30 newsrooms.

When/Where: Friday, April 29 from 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. ET. (Virtual)
Cost: $25 for the general public and $20 for National Press Club members
For more information and to register, visit this webpage.

Health Journalism 2022 - Austin, Texas
2022-04-28 09:00 - 2022-05-01 12:59 | Hilton Austin, 500 E 4th Street, Austin, Texas, 78701, United States
Felice J. Freyer, AHCJ board president

Some 500 people gathered in Austin, Texas, two weeks ago for AHCJ’s first in-person conference in three years. Based on my observations and every comment I received, it was a great success.

Trepidation about socializing after pandemic isolation? It evaporated. The usual high-energy collegiality pervaded the four-day conference, which featured two field trips, 47 panel discussions and workshops, two dinner receptions, and the annual awards luncheon.

Attendees listening to CMS Administrator Chiquita Brooks-LaSure’s keynote address at Health Journalism 2022.(Photo by Paola Rodriguez.)

While attendance was lower than our last conference in Baltimore, which attracted 800 people, it was greater than expected considering high airfares and virus uncertainties. Although the precise number isn’t yet available, the conference seemed to have more first-time attendees than ever. They packed the room at the first-timers session on Thursday.

AHCJ’s signature event for freelancers, PitchFest, was fully subscribed, with 47 writers pitching their story ideas to 21 editors from 16 publications, including AARP, MindSite News, WebMD, and Kaiser Health News. “Writers and editors were enthusiastic, and we were all so happy to meet in person again,” Jeanne Erdmann, chair of the Freelance Committee, said.

AHCJ took steps to prevent COVID-19 transmission, requiring proof of vaccination and booster shots to enter the event. Masks were also required, and as far as I could tell, everyone complied.

It paid off. Only four people who attended the conference reported testing positive afterward – three attendees and the spouse of one of those attendees. That strongly suggests that there was little or no spread of the virus at this conference. Thanks to all!

Among the conference highlights:

The keynote speaker, Administrator Chiquita Brooks-LaSure of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid services, took open-ended questions from reporters for the first time, talking with us for about 40 minutes. Check out her full speech.

In a separate Q&A session, Robert Califf, M.D.,M.A.C.C., commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration, made headlines with his observation that “misinformation is our leading cause of death.”

At a roundtable discussion during the luncheon, four experts in women’s reproductive health prepared reporters for the end of abortion rights in many states. Their prescient comments came just two days before the media would report that the Supreme Court was poised to overturn Roe v. Wade, according to a leaked draft of the decision.

Before the conference, AHCJ’s Board of Directors held its twice-yearly meeting, also happy to see each other outside the Zoom boxes. I finally got to meet our newest board members, Christine Herman and Sebastián Martínez Valdivia. The board heard updates about committee activities, finances (still strong), membership (holding steady) and the search for a new executive director (making progress). In a move that I suspect many members will welcome, the board authorized the staff to negotiate a contract to rebuild AHCJ’s antiquated website.

If you missed the event, certain sessions, or just want to refresh your memory, here are some resources:

The Covering Health blog featured reports of several of the sessions and a transcript of the roundtable about women’s reproductive health post-Roe.

A recording of Califf’s 45-minute conversation with patient safety core topic leader Kerry Dooley Young and Q&A with the audience.

The conference app, accessible to anyone who registered, contains many of the speakers’ presentations.

Many thanks to everyone who made the conference a success, including AHCJ’s ace staff, the speakers who traveled from afar to share their knowledge, and every conference attendee, who brought smart questions and hearty spirits to Austin.

See you next year!

Felice J. Freyer is AHCJ’s president and a health care reporter for The Boston Globe.

HOSTS

ENDOWING SPONSORS

SPONSORS

AHCJ conference in Austin, April 28-May 1
2022-04-28 01:00 - 2022-05-01 01:00
Conference home
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Fellowships

Chiquita Brooks-LaSure, administrator for the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), will be the featured keynote speaker at Health Journalism 2022 in Austin.
The conference will be held April 28-May 1 at the Hilton Austin. The hotel is attached to the Austin Convention Center via a covered walkway — two blocks from East Sixth Street nightlife and less than a mile from the picturesque Rainey Street Historic District.
As the leader of CMS, Brooks-LaSure plays a key role in shaping the federal response to some of the nation’s most pressing issues in health care, including the continuing response to the pandemic. Addressing health inequities has also been at the top of her priority list. In her testimony tothe Senate Finance Committee in April 2021, Brooks-LaSure — the first Black woman to lead CMS — emphasized the need to “expand access to quality care for all communities.”
Two field trips were being planned to sites in Austin where innovations are happening in research, clinical and community environments, including:

The VISLAB at the Texas Advanced Computing Center, University of Texas, which creates visualizations to support research and presents them on one of the world’s largest high-resolution tiled displays.

Community First! Village, a 51-acre master planned, innovative model community that provides affordable, permanent housing and a supportive community for men and women coming out of chronic homelessness. A development of Mobile Loaves & Fishes, this transformative residential program exists to love and serve people who have been living on the streets, while also empowering the surrounding community into a lifestyle of service with the homeless.

A collaborative treatment center at Dell Medical Center that illustrates how thoughtful design can change the patient experience.

A visit to the biomedical/biomechanical lab of Dr. James Sulzer at UT-Austin (recently profiled in The Atlantic magazine) where he and his team attempt to fill knowledge gaps related to stroke recovery and the development of new rehabilitation strategies.

Lone Star Circle of Care in Taylor, Texas, a community anchor and health hub that attempts to move as far upstream in the social determinants of health “river” as possible and create access to care for families along the continuum – from birth to older adults.

Field trips and workshops will be followed by a newcomer session, a kickoff plenary session, and a “Welcome to Austin” reception.
Panels, popular events and new features
This three-and-a-half-day conference will be packed with panels and workshops led by journalists and world-class speakers about a wide range of topics including:

New abortion laws and their likely impact on women’s reproductive health

The future of public health and pandemics – are we any better off today than we were in March 2020?

An extensive look at patient safety 10 years after the infamous “Dr. Death” case

How to cover the LGBTQ community

How research in medical science has been affected in some positive ways by the pandemic

Reframing gun violence as a public health issue

The quest for COVID-19 data: Where “official sources” fell short and others stepped in

The sex gap: How male-centric medicine hurts everyone

How to help your readers understand the “information blocking” rule and how it relates to patient safety

Hospital ransomware attacks: Why they’re happening and what can be done about them

The climate crisis, public health and deepening inequities

How to track “dark money” from Big Pharma.

The conference exhibit hall opens Friday, April 29, creating informal networking opportunities for attendees and the chance to win prizes. PitchFest — a conference favorite — will take place that afternoon. As always, attendees will be able to pitch story ideas to editors and walk away with assignments. AHCJ’s annual membership meeting is set for early evening on Friday.
Saturday, April 30, the final full day of the conference, will include several “how-to” sessions and the awards luncheon, which celebrates the best health care reporting.
On Sunday morning, May 1, after a session on reporter self-care, AHCJ core topic leader for infectious diseases Bara Vaida will lead a yoga session, so bring your mat and wind down before you head home.
Registrants unable to attend the conference in person will have access to some live-streamed events and sessions via the Whova app including, the opening night plenary session, the membership meeting, the awards luncheon and 10 panel discussions.

Call for ideas
AHCJ is gathering ideas for conference workshops and panels. Please submit suggestions before March 19.
Click here for your opportunity to submit ideas for consideration.

Sponsorship team

Hosts
University of Texas Dell Medical School
Meadows Mental Health Policy Institute
St. David’s Foundation
Arnold Ventures

Endowing sponsors
Robert Wood Johnson Foundation
The Leona M. and Harry B. Helmsley Charitable Trust
Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation

Sponsors
The Commonwealth Fund
Episcopal Health Foundation
The Kresge Foundation
Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute
The Pew Charitable Trusts
The John A. Hartford Foundation
Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research
New York State Health Foundation
Health Care Foundation of Western & Central New York
California Health Care Foundation
Missouri Foundation for Health
Colorado Health Foundation
Rhode Island Foundation
The JAMA Network
Millbank Memorial Fund
Burroughs Wellcome Fund

Webinar: Is it possible to have healthy people on a sick planet?
2022-04-19 01:00
This webinar features, Gary Cohen, president of Health Care Without Harm and a pioneer in the environmental health movement for more than 35 years. Cohen has helped build coalitions addressing health impacts related to climate change and toxic chemical exposure. Health Care Without Harm, created in 1996, works to transform the health care sector to be environmentally sustainable.
Sponsor: The Hastings Center, an ethics research institute
Speaker: Gary Cohen, president, Health Care Without Harm
Date: April 19, 2022
Time: 12:00 p.m. ET
Location: virtual
Cost: free
Register: https://tinyurl.com/bdzcuzzv

Aging-in-place technology: challenges and trends
2022-04-06 01:00
SAVE THE DATE: April 6, 1 p.m. ET
There’s no one-size-fits-all solution when it comes to aging in place. When the challenges older adults face are not adequately addressed, that person either lives with a lot of risk or is forced out of the place they’d prefer to live. Health technology is the answer for some. But there are challenges, including privacy issues, cost and useability. Our expert panel will lay out some of the issues that arise as families try to support a parent’s desire to age in place. We’ll also look at one demo project that could help and highlight some of the latest tech trends that health reporters should have on their radar.
View the webcast
Leslie Kernisan
Jeffrey Kaye
Laurie M. Orlov
Liz Seegert
Karen Blum

Leslie Kernisan, M.D., M.P.H., is a practicing geriatrician and the founder of the popular aging health website and podcast BetterHealthWhileAging.net, which she created to help families and older adults learn better ways to manage aging health challenges. She is also a clinical instructor in the UCSF Division of Geriatrics. Dr. Kernisan has a special interest in the practical problems families encounter while assisting aging parents, including how to help them age-in-place. She has been running “Helping Older Parents” online courses and group coaching programs since 2018, and is the author of the book, “When Your Aging Parent Needs Help: A geriatrician’s step-by-step guide to memory loss, resistance, safety worries and more.”

Jeffrey Kaye, M.D., is the Layton Professor of Neurology and Biomedical Engineering at Oregon Health and Science University. He directs the Oregon Center for Aging and Technology, the Oregon Roybal Center for Care Support Translational Research Advantaged by Integrating Technology, and the NIA-Layton Aging and Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center at OHSU. He leads or has led several longitudinal studies on aging and clinical trials including: Intelligent Systems for Detection of Aging Changes, the ORCATECH Life Laboratory, Ambient Independence Measures for Guiding Care Transitions, and the Collaborative Aging Research using Technology Initiative studies, all using pervasive computing and sensing technologies for assessment and interventions. He is listed in Best Doctors in America. He serves on many national and international panels and boards in the fields of geriatrics, neurology and technology. He is an author of over 400 scientific publications and holds several major grant awards from federal agencies, national foundations and industrial sponsors.

Laurie M. Orlov, a tech industry veteran, writer, speaker and elder care advocate, is the founder of Aging and Health Technology Watch — market research, trends, blogs and reports that provide thought leadership, analysis and guidance about health and aging-related technologies and services that enable boomers and seniors to sustain and improve their quality of life. In her previous career, Laurie spent many years in the technology industry, including nine years at analyst firm Forrester Research. She has spoken regularly and delivered keynote speeches at forums, industry consortia, conferences, and symposia, most recently on the business of technology for boomers and seniors. She advises large organizations as well as non-profits and entrepreneurs about trends and opportunities in the age-related technology market. She has a graduate certification in geriatric care management from the University of Florida and a bachelor’s in music from the University of Rochester. Laurie has been named one of the Top 50 Influencers in Aging by Next Avenue and one of the women leading global innovation on age tech 2020.

Co-moderator Liz Seegert (@lseegert), is AHCJ’s topic leader on aging. Her work has appeared in NextAvenue.com, Journal of Active Aging, Cancer Today, Kaiser Health News and other outlets. She is a senior fellow at the Center for Health Policy and Media Engagement at George Washington University and co-produces the HealthCetera podcast.

Co-moderator Karen Blum is AHCJ’s core topic leader on health IT. An independent journalist in the Baltimore area, she has written health IT stories for publications such as Pharmacy Practice News, Clinical Oncology News, Gastroenterology & Endoscopy News, General Surgery News and Infectious Disease Special Edition.

2022 Gerald Loeb Awards for Distinguished Business and Financial Journalism
2022-03-31 01:00
Calling all AHCJ members who have written compelling stories about the business of health care. The Gerald Loeb Awards are the most prestigious honor in business journalism in the United States. Individual journalists and media outlets can submit entries in 12 competition categories and nominations will also be accepted for two career achievement honors, the Lifetime Achievement Award and the Lawrence Minard Editor Award.
Entries must have been published or broadcast in the United States during the calendar year 2021.
Sponsor: UCLA Anderson School of Management and the G. and R. Loeb Foundation
Deadline: Thursday, March 31 by 11:59:59 Pacific Time
For more information, visit this webpage.

Transgender teens and gender-affirming care: What reporters need to know
2022-03-28 01:00
SAVE THE DATE: March 28, 1 p.m. ET
As multiple states introduce legislation related to the care of transgender children and teens, it’s becoming an even more important health care issue to cover, especially when so few people understand transgender health care or what gender-affirming care actually is.
View the webcast
Slides:Legislative overview (898 KB .pdf)Joshua Safer (791 KB .pdf)
Join us for a webinar with two experts, Dr. Jason Rafferty, a pediatrician and child psychiatrist who authored the American Academy of Pediatrics recommendations for gender-affirming care in children and adolescents, and Dr. Joshua Safer, a member of the Endocrine Society who serves as the Executive Director of the Mount Sinai Center for Transgender Medicine and Surgery in New York.
Learn what gender-affirming care involves, how hormone therapy works, how many teens actually receive hormone therapy, the short-term and long-term risks and benefits of hormone treatment, how fertility preservation works, common pitfalls and errors in transgender health care reporting, and the various misconceptions that exist about gender-affirming care before adulthood.
You’ll also hear from an Endocrine Society representative who will review the confusing legislative landscape on this topic and leave with a list of websites, source recommendations, and other resources for reporting on this timely hot button issue.
Dallas Ducar
Jason Rafferty
Joshua Safer
Tara Haelle

Dallas Ducar is the founding CEO of Transhealth Northampton. Prior to assuming the CEO position, Dallas served as the Clinical Lead for Mental Health Services at the Massachusetts General Hospital Transgender Health Program, where she worked with an interdisciplinary team to provide novel gender-affirming care. Dallas worked to develop pathways for all patients to receive psychotherapy, psychopharmacology, and surgical assessments for life-saving interventions. Dallas is on faculty at Columbia University, Northeastern University, University of Virginia School of Medicine, University of Virginia School of Nursing, and the MGH Institute for Health Professions. She serves on the Board of Directors for GLBTQ Legal Advocates and Defenders (GLAD) and of Healing Our Community Collaborative (HOCC). She also serves as the Vice-Chair of the Primary Care Alliance and is on the LGBTQI Federal Policy Roundtable.

Dr. Jason Rafferty is a board certified child psychiatrist and pediatrician at Thundermist Health Centers, Hasbro Children’s Hospital, and Emma Pendleton Bradley Hospital in Rhode Island. He is a clinical assistant professor in the Department of Psychiatry and Human Behavior at the Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University. He graduated from Harvard Medical School and obtained post-graduate training through the Triple Board Residency at Brown University. The Triple Board is a combined program in pediatrics, general psychiatry and child/adolescent psychiatry. He has additional degrees from Harvard University in public health concentrating on maternal and child health, and education focused on adolescent development and psychology. He is involved with the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), frequently reviewing policy and publications related to LGBTQ health. He was recently the lead author of the AAP’s policy statement, “Ensuring Comprehensive Care and Support for Transgender and Gender-Diverse Children and Adolescents.”

Joshua Safer is the executive director of the Mount Sinai Center for Transgender Medicine and Surgery in New York City and professor of medicine at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai. Dr. Safer was the inaugural president of the United States Professional Association for Transgender Health (USPATH). Dr. Safer serves as medical curriculum lead for the Global Education Institute (GEI) of the World Professional Association for Transgender Health (WPATH) and has been a scientific co-chair for WPATH international meetings. Dr. Safer is a co-author of the Endocrine Society guidelines for the medical care of transgender patients, the transgender hormone treatment sections for UpToDate, the current transgender medical care review in the New England Journal of Medicine and the current review of transgender medical care in Annals of Internal Medicine.
Dr. Safer graduated medical school at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, completed residency in Internal Medicine at Mount Sinai Beth Israel Medical Center in New York City, and completed fellowship in endocrinology at the Harvard-Longwood program based at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston.

How COVID-19 Has Changed Healthcare Communications
2022-03-24 01:00
During the pandemic, scientists and public health officials struggled to communicate. Join former U.S. Surgeon General, Dr. Jerome Adams, Pfizer’s Global Head of Communications, Ed Harnaga and Wall Street Journal Reporter Jared Hopkins for a conversation on successful and unsuccessful communication approaches during COVID-19 pandemic, and how these lessons can help us address broader health issues moving forward. The panel will be moderated by Raul Damas, Partner and Healthcare Co-lead at the Brunswick Group.
When: 11:00 a.m. ET, March 24, 2022 (webinar)
To register, visit this webpage.

Resumés for Freelancers
2022-03-23 01:00
It can be difficult to figure out how to format a resumé if you are a freelancer and have many clients. This one-hour program will walk you through how to make your resumé an effective marketing tool.
The speaker is Ruth E. Thaler-Carter, co-author of the Editorial Freelancers Association’s “Resumés for Freelancers: Make Your Resumé an Effective Marketing Tool … and More” booklet.
Sponsor: Society of Professional Journalists
When/Where: 3:45 p.m. Eastern Time, March 23, 2022 (Online)
Cost: Free
To register, visit this webpage.

Taking the Pulse of Clinical Trials
2022-03-17 01:00
Keeping track of clinical trials is a Herculean task, as millions of changes occur each year.
STAT Trials Pulse is a new clinical intelligence platform can help, allowing users to seamlessly keep tabs on the trials they care about, and find actionable insights that can drive a company’s strategic and financial direction.
Join experts at STAT for a discussion about how to use this new tool, developed in conjunction with Applied XL, to make sense of clinical trials data.
When/Where: 1pm Eastern Time / 10am Pacific Time, Thursday, March 17 (Virtual)
For more information and to register, visit this webpage here.

Is Pitching Worth the Effort?
2022-03-17 01:00
Join AHCJ for this week’s Lunch and Learn get-together where you’ll learn how to determine how much effort to put into your pitches. Don’t miss out on this exciting opportunity to mix and mingle with fellow freelance journalists.
When/Where: 1:00 p.m. ET, March 17. (virtual)
View the webcastMeeting ID: 961 8036 2044
