Insights

When problems arise at a hospital, there are often three responses: Blame the patient, blame the nurse, or blame some forces beyond their control. All three happened in the wake of recent Ebola cases in Dallas, but reporters should be wary of those kinds of claims.

In Washington state, a lack of psychiatric beds has led to a court ruling that says patients can't be held against their will in ERs while awaiting long-term care. While the ACA has expanded benefits, it has also revealed just how scarce resources often are.

The Tennessean needs a new Health Care Reporter. Plus, check out open positions at Student Health 101, WNYC Health Unit and York Daily Record.

The professional history of California doctor James Privitera includes a series of questionable practices that contributed to the death of at least one patient. And yet the physician's reprimand by the state medical board can be wiped from online records as early as next month.

Wendy Wolfson had planned an essay for NPR's health desk about her experiences getting her son help for disruptive behavior. Instead, she found herself sitting in a hospital bed with a rare heart condition associated with extreme stress. Her story quickly changed directions.

Psychological abuse of kids gets far less attention that physical or sexual abuse. But a new study finds that in many ways, psychological abuse can have equally devastating effects on young lives. But it's often harder to spot, and fewer treatments specifically target it.

One of the most overlooked stories in the rollout of the Affordable Care Act is an experiment to rein in Medicare and Medicaid costs by pushing millions of poor and disabled beneficiaries into coordinated plans.

Should California doctors' public records be expunged from an online database after 10 years? Patient safety advocates didn't think so, and helped pass legislation to undo that expiration date. But the new rules are full of serious compromises.

In California, millions have been added to the Medicaid ranks. But even the state's most forward-thinking counties are struggling to provide timely health care access to all of these new patients.

The Pulitzer Prize-winning newspaper The Seattle Times is looking for an experienced reporter to cover health care in the fast-growing Puget Sound region.