Insights

You learn a lot when you spend months reporting on a given issue or community, as our fellows can attest. Whether you’re embarking on a big new story or seeking to go deeper on a given issue, it pays to learn from those who’ve already put in the shoe leather and crunched the data. In these essays and columns, our community of journalists steps back from the notebooks and tape to reflect on key lessons, highlight urgent themes, and offer sage advice on the essential health stories of the day. 

Author(s)
By Steven Mittelman

Everybody knows that smoking causes cancer, and that obesity causes heart disease, but even most doctors and scientists I speak to have no idea about the very large effect obesity has on cancer.

Author(s)
By William Heisel

Derrick Coleman Jr., one of the running backs for the Seattle Seahawks, shows that defining people by what they can’t do is much less compelling than defining people by what they can do.

Author(s)
By R. Jan Gurley

Underwhelming results demonstrate that after all the money and effort invested in bureaucracy, Patient Centered Medical Homes do not contribute to actual patient care.