I joined American Medical News, “the newspaper for America’s physicians,” in 2005. I work as a reporter covering medical ethics, health care quality and patient safety for the newspaper’s professional issues section. Here is some general information about the newspaper and here’s a “descriptive profile.”

Below is a complete archive of my work for the paper. To receive only American Medical News-related blog posts, subscribe to this RSS feed. You can click below to follow my American Medical News-dedicated Twitter account @oreilly_amnews and email me here. Or add me to one of your circles on Google+.

Feb. 20, 2012:

• Fear of punitive response to hospital errors lingers
• Study: Doctors often lecture noncompliant patients too much
• Georgia high court strikes down assisted suicide law

Feb. 14, 2012:

• Major employers support flu shot requirement for health professionals

Feb. 13, 2012:

• Home births rise despite higher neonatal mortality rate

Feb. 8, 2012:

• Almost half of preventive services not offered during checkups

Feb. 6, 2012:

• Outcry over disabled girl’s transplant care renews eligibility debate

Feb. 1, 2012:

• Average hospice length of stay is falling

Jan. 30, 2012:

• FDA drug warnings often ineffective, study says

Jan. 25, 2012:

• Depressed patients benefit from team model in managing numerous illnesses

Jan. 23, 2012:

• Clarity needed on how and when to report medical adverse events

Jan. 18, 2012:

• Doctors should weigh costs in treatment, ACP says

Jan. 16, 2012:

• Former drug reps eyed to pitch physicians on referrals

Jan. 9, 2012:

• Safety research found lacking for outpatient visits
• Hospitals alerted to fatigue’s dangers

Jan. 3, 2012:

• UTI prevention fails to keep pace with other anti-infection efforts

Jan. 2, 2012:

• Doctors have to manage smartphone distractions
• Disaster medicine dilemmas examined

Dec. 26, 2011:

• Physicians earn nearly perfect ratings from most patients

Dec. 19, 2011:

• Appeals court OKs payments to marrow donors

Dec. 14, 2011:

• Brain scans yield clues to physician decision-making

Dec. 12, 2011:

• Proposal on access to lab tests should be revised, doctors say

Dec. 6, 2011:

• Can a computer program teach patient empathy?

Nov. 28, 2011:

• AMA delegates detail steps to confront national drug shortage emergency
• Patient-rating websites top Google searches for best doctors
• More help sought to fight opioid abuse
• Training, EMR tracking can slash risk of opioid abuse

Nov. 22, 2011:

• Physicians, theologians examine faith and medical practice

Nov. 21, 2011:

• IOM calls for monitoring and probe of health IT hazards

Nov. 14, 2011:

• When the office visit is a family matter
• Critics rap delay in doctor-payment reporting rules

Nov. 11, 2011:

• Only one in 10 physicians asks patients what they expect from care

Nov. 7, 2011:

• Using unclaimed bodies for dissection draws outcry
• Medical school applications reach new high

Oct. 31, 2011:

• Stanford cuts liability premiums with cash offers after errors
• Education key to helping Americans break off love affair with salt

Oct. 24, 2011:

• Gap on guideline use between HMOs and PPOs narrows
• CMS incentive plan could worsen care disparities, study finds

Oct. 19, 2011:

• Heeding advice on primary care “don’ts” would save $6.7 billion annually

Oct. 17, 2011:

• States try more aggressive Rx opioid controls
• Hospital-based palliative care rises 19%

Oct. 10, 2011:

• Hospitals make almost no headway in cutting readmissions

Oct. 4, 2011:

• Demand drives more hospitals to offer alternative therapies

Oct. 3, 2011:

• HHS wants to give patients results straight from the lab
• Tactics to improve drug compliance
• Explaining residents’ role in surgery may keep patients from consenting

Sept. 26, 2011:

• HHS removes public access to National Practitioner Data Bank
• “Million Hearts” initiative aims to reduce cardiovascular disease burden

Sept. 19, 2011:

• Face transplants starting to gain acceptance
• AMA group sets new framework for patient outcome measures

Sept. 12, 2011:

• As CME funding shifts from industry, others foot the bill
• Temporary health workers double risk of harmful drug mix-ups

Sept. 6, 2011:

• Elected coroners report fewer suicides than their appointed counterparts

Sept. 5, 2011:

• HHS bolsters scrutiny of researchers’ drug industry ties
• NQF endorses pediatric quality measures

Aug. 29, 2011:

• Menthol smokers find it harder to kick the habit

Aug. 22, 2011:

• High-tech solutions add to success of checklists in cutting bloodstream infections

Aug. 19, 2011:

• CT scans rise fourfold in EDs, but hospitalizations fall by half

Aug. 15, 2011:

• HHS cutting red tape to speed clinical trials
• Revealing their medical errors: Why three doctors went public

Aug. 12, 2011:

• Eli Lilly reports $48 million in first-quarter physician payments

Aug. 8, 2011:

• Caregiving takes toll on 42 million Americans

Aug. 5, 2011:

• Study casts doubt on effectiveness of hospitalist care

Aug. 3, 2011:

• Informed-consent documents called too long and complex

Aug. 1, 2011:

• Call for civility aims to stop disruptive behavior in the OR

July 25, 2011:

• Adapting JAMA for tomorrow’s physician readers
• Exhibit channels emotional — and orthopedic — wounds of war

July 19, 2011:

• Checklists more effective when physicians are prompted to use them

July 18, 2011:

• In season of storms, physicians rise to occasion
• Wrong-site surgeries risk reduced during pilot project

July 11, 2011:

• Anonymous posts: Liberating or unprofessional?

July 8, 2011:

• Chronic pain costs U.S. $635 billion a year

July 4, 2011:

• AMA delegates reaffirm key policy but target parts of law for change
• AMA backs challenge of “don’t ask” gun law
• AMA house seeks repeal of OTC drug-spending rule
• Delegates ask AMA council how to just say no to patients

June 27, 2011:

• 4 items added to serious reportable events list
• Massachusetts bill would give patients the right to film surgery

June 17, 2011:

• “Frequent-flier” ED users take toll on emergency physicians

June 13, 2011:

• Quantifying adverse drug events: Med mishaps send millions back for care
• End-of-life care: How you can help stressed surrogates

June 10, 2011:

• Medical board could discipline physicians for torture under N.Y. bill

June 3, 2011:

• Panel targets primary care “don’ts”

June 2, 2011:

• AMA names James L. Madara, MD, as top executive

May 30, 2011:

• Tele-ICU technology improves patient outcomes, study finds

May 26, 2011:

• Donor families join anatomy students at ceremony honoring their loved ones

May 23, 2011:

• New York bill seeks physician dress code to cut infections

May 16, 2011:

• High-deductible health plans’ effect same for rich and poor

May 13, 2011:

• Doctors failed to inquire about Gitmo detainees’ injuries, study alleges

May 11, 2011:

• Coalition pushes for safe injection practices

May 9, 2011:

• Quality of health news reporting found lacking

May 4, 2011:

• Many paid caregivers lack health literacy skills

May 2, 2011:

• Rx side effects causing more hospitalizations

April 26, 2011:

• Doubt cast on effectiveness of universal MRSA screening

April 25, 2011:

• Hospitals’ high-tech tools track who’s washing their hands

April 22, 2011:

• Quality metrics seek to slash unneeded CT scans

April 19, 2011:

• CDC issues guidance on preventing bloodstream infections

April 18, 2011:

• 1 in 3 patients harmed during hospital stay
• Humanizing anatomy: a medical student’s first patient

April 12, 2011:

• 32% of hospitals ill-equipped for mass-casualty disasters

April 11, 2011:

• Financial ties to industry widespread on clinical guideline panels

April 8, 2011:

• Communicating health risks can be tricky

April 1, 2011:

• Medical oaths less of a moral compass for physicians

March 28, 2011:

• Kidney transplant plan would give preference to younger patients
• 51 died under Washington’s assisted-suicide law in 2010

March 23, 2011:

• Universal coverage may not eliminate health disparities

March 21, 2011:

• Opioid prescribing requires close monitoring

March 14, 2011:

• ICU central-line infections drop dramatically nationwide
• 1 in 3 surrogate decision-makers carries lasting emotional burden
• U.S. quality improvement steady, but progress on disparities remains elusive

March 7, 2011:

• Comedic skills for a serious role
• Flu activity up but way behind 2009-10 season

March 3, 2011:

• Scrubs vs. white coats: equal opportunity bacteria spreaders

Feb. 28, 2011:

• Patient satisfaction high even in doctor shortage areas

Feb. 23, 2011:

• Illinois Blues partners with hospitals to reduce readmissions

Feb. 17, 2011:

• Infection-control checklist reduces deaths by 10%

Feb. 14, 2011:

• Costliest hospitals report lowest death rates
• Oncologists shouldn’t delay frank talk with patients

Feb. 9, 2011:

• 2 physician-assisted suicide bills face off in Montana

Feb. 7, 2011:

• Reducing readmissions: How 3 hospitals found success
• Elective deliveries before 39 weeks widespread

Feb. 2, 2011:

• Hospitals can save $10 million a year with safety measures

Jan. 24, 2011:

• Regaining trust after vaccine threat debunked

Jan. 17, 2011:

• Prescription drug containers may get simpler labels

Jan. 11, 2011:

• Palliative care researchers tackle whether to stop statins for terminally ill

Jan. 10, 2011:

• Kidney exchange program makes 1st matches
• CMS requires hospitals to report bloodstream infections in ICUs

Jan. 5, 2011:

• Routine ovarian cancer screening yields only small drop in deaths

Jan. 3, 2011:

• AMA webinars demonstrate how quality metrics improve care

Dec. 27, 2010:

• Pain contracts can undermine patient trust, critics say

Dec. 21, 2010:

• Health reform law will boost care quality, Sebelius says

Dec. 15. 2010:

• Disclosing errors good for reputation but won’t reduce lawsuits

Dec. 13, 2010:

• Quality initiative claims it saved 22,000 lives

Dec. 8, 2010:

• Suicide screening should be part of hospital procedure, panel says

Dec. 6, 2010:

• Diagnostic errors: Why they happen
• Nazi war crimes provide lessons in medical ethics
• Technology and counseling help improve drug compliance

Nov. 29, 2010:

• Drug industry ties to doctors weaken as disclosure, gift rules spread
• FDA initiative targets safe use of medicines

Nov. 24, 2010:

• Turning off heart devices near life’s end stirs ethical, legal debates

Nov. 19, 2010:

• Long shifts, nights on call lead to depression and burnout in surgeons

Nov. 16, 2010:

• Surgical diversity initiative has double bonus

Nov. 15, 2010:

• Surrogate decision-makers’ dilemma on end-of-life care requires more input from doctors

Nov. 11, 2010:

• Drug rep visits rarely result in better prescribing, study says

Nov. 8, 2010:

• New recognition for first black U.S. doctor with medical degree

Nov. 4, 2010:

• AMA announces EVP’s departure
• Joint Commission quality initiative reduces poor patient handoffs

Nov. 1, 2010:

• Wrong-patient, wrong-site procedures persist despite safety protocol
• Preventive measures shown to cut hospital C. diff rates

Oct. 28, 2010:

• Tool kit aims to prepare physicians for legal implications of social media

Oct. 25, 2010:

• Opioid safety is focus of $1 million-a-year educational initiative

Oct. 20, 2010:

• IOM urges greater role for advanced-practice nurses

Oct. 18, 2010:

• Nobel Prize reflects IVF’s acceptance as medical procedure
• Put me in, Doc: When doctors must say no to athletes
  – Finalist, feature writing, specialty/trade, Chicago Headline Club Peter Lisagor Awards for Exemplary Journalism

Oct. 11, 2010:

• Posting emergency wait times: Good marketing or good medicine?

Oct. 6, 2010:

• Chicago doctors to spread system of reporting, reducing medical errors

Oct. 4, 2010:

• Doctors use Formula One pit crews as safety model

Sept. 27, 2010:

• Million-dollar payouts to researchers often go undisclosed in journal articles
• Physician background doesn’t tell the whole quality story

Sept. 23, 2010:

• Large-scale adverse events deserve disclosure, study says

Sept. 20, 2010:

• Quality ratings on coronary artery bypass made public with surgeons’ help

Sept. 14, 2010:

• JAMA editor-in-chief to leave in 2011

Sept. 13, 2010:

• Drugmakers hold to too much influence over doctors’ decisions, public says
• Cough medicine abuse prompts FDA to consider restrictions

Sept. 9, 2010:

• Emotional problems linger for children displaced by Katrina

Sept. 6, 2010:

• Social media pose ethical unknowns for doctors
• Katrina’s legacy: Rethinking medical disaster planning
  – Gold award, best feature article series, American Society of Healthcare Publication Editors; finalist, in-depth news story or series, specialty/trade, Chicago Headline Club Peter Lisagor Awards for Exemplary Journalism
• Early palliative care lengthens survival for lung cancer patients

Aug. 30, 2010:

• Most ED patients willing to wait longer to avoid nondoctor care

Aug. 23, 2010:

• Prescription data opt-out law upheld in Maine

Aug. 16, 2010:

• Katrina’s legacy: Moving beyond the storm
  – Gold award, best feature article series, American Society of Healthcare Publication Editors; finalist, in-depth news story or series, specialty/trade, Chicago Headline Club Peter Lisagor Awards for Exemplary Journalism

Aug. 9, 2010:

• Arkansas doctor guilty in bombing that injured medical board chair

Aug. 5, 2010:

• Organized medicine should take leadership role in quality, study says

Aug. 2, 2010:

• Physicians reluctant to report impaired colleagues, study says
• Iowa practices get recruiting help from state medical society

July 29, 2010:

• Hospitals boost response rates for timely angioplasties

July 12, 2010:

• Prescription drug overdose cases skyrocket at emergency departments

June 28, 2010:

• Safety records of surgery centers found lacking
• AMA meeting: Doctors’ online conduct addressed at CEJA forum
• AMA meeting: Delegates seek pay for care delivered via telemedicine
• AMA meeting: Penalize Medicare contractors for pay delays

June 18, 2010:

• Living wills’ lack of specifics limits their usefulness

June 14, 2010:

• Central-line infections declining, CDC reports
• Patient safety: What can medicine learn from aviation?

June 7, 2010:

• FDA task force calls for more disclosure of drug, device information

June 1, 2010:

• FDA calls on physicians to report misleading drug ads

May 31, 2010:

• Heart devices can be turned off near end of life

May 24, 2010:

• Flood of test results prompts new attention on how to manage flow
• Medicare to test allowing more than palliative care in hospice

May 17, 2010:

• Informed consent: Hospitals explore personalizing risks
• Patient compliance highest with compatible physicians

May 14, 2010:

• More tobacco control efforts recommended at state, local level

May 11, 2010:

• Primary care shortage evident in Connecticut

May 10, 2010:

• Specialty societies set new policy on drug company influence

May 4, 2010:

• Infusion pumps targeted for tighter FDA scrutiny

May 3, 2010:

• Doctors at religious hospitals face ethical conflicts over care

April 27, 2010:

• Quality of care, patient safety see gains

April 26, 2010:

• Infection checklist effort expands, but national rates unchanged

April 21, 2010:

• “Grey’s Anatomy,” “House” dramas inspire ethics lessons

April 19, 2010:

• Quality experts hope health reform delivers substantial improvements in care
• Safety on the syllabus: Patient safety becoming part of medical education
• JAMA urges journals to toughen data review

April 16, 2010:

• Advance care planning focus of awareness campaign

April 12, 2010:

• Health reform’s next challenge: Who will care for the newly insured?

April 6, 2010:

• Joint Commission gives final OK to medical staff standard

April 5, 2010:

• Health reform mandates disclosure of industry gifts

March 29, 2010:

• New medical schools open, but physician shortage concerns persist
• Primary care gets boost in resident Match

March 25, 2010:

• Assisted suicide laws cited in 95 deaths in Washington, Oregon

March 22, 2010:

• Parents of dying children may ask doctors to hasten death
• Payments found to increase willingness to donate a kidney

March 19, 2010:

• Kidney paired donations may expand under pilot program

March 12, 2010:

• Medical errors: Doctors, risk managers take different approach to disclosure

March 8, 2010:

• Hospital-acquired sepsis, pneumonia kill 48,000 each year

March 5, 2010:

• TV medical dramas misleading on seizure first aid

March 2, 2010:

• Interpreter services offered at more than half of physician practices

March 1, 2010:

• Infection rates drop as Michigan hospitals turn to checklists

Feb. 26, 2010:

• Flu-shot mandate nets 98% vaccination rate in Mo. health system

Feb. 22, 2010:

• Doctors who aid in executions unlikely to face sanctions

Feb. 17, 2010:

• Doctor who linked vaccines, autism acted unethically, British medical council rules

Feb. 15, 2010:

• Helping Haiti: U.S. doctors reflect on crisis care experiences

Feb. 12, 2010:

• N.Y., Minnesota consider new rules on pharma gifts

Feb. 8, 2010:

• California limits how long HMO patients wait for appointments

Feb. 3, 2010:

• Quality improvements being seen at hospitals

Feb. 1, 2010:

• “I’m sorry”: Why is that so hard for doctors to say?

Jan. 28, 2010:

• Help Haiti: AMA registers physician volunteers

Jan. 26, 2010:

• Joint Commission revises medical staff standard

Jan. 25, 2010:

• Halting ambulance diversions didn’t affect ED waits

Jan. 18, 2010:

• Physician-assisted suicide legal in Montana, court rules

Jan. 14, 2010:

• MRSA surgical infections exact heavy clinical, financial toll

Jan. 8, 2010:

• Aviation-based training improves safety at 2 hospitals

Jan. 4, 2010:

• Hospitals make big strides in delivering timely angioplasties

Dec. 31, 2009:

• N.J. could be first to target doctors who accept industry gifts

Dec. 28, 2009:

• Patient safety improving slightly, 10 years after IOM report on errors
• California gets tougher on substance-abusing physicians

Dec. 25, 2009:

• Obesity could negate health gains from decline in smoking

Dec. 21, 2009:

• Ban on paying bone marrow donors challenged in court

Dec. 18, 2009:

• Racial gap in preventive care found to increase hospitalizations

Dec. 11, 2009:

• Wrong surgeries a product of poor communication

Dec. 3, 2009:

• Quality of care low on hospital boards’ priority list

Nov. 30, 2009:

• Patient safety surveillance: keeping watch in hospitals, from sinks to surgery

Nov. 23, 2009:

• Digital divide emerges at hospitals serving poor patients
• AMA meeting: “Don’t ask, don’t tell” said to hurt patient care; repeal urged
• AMA meeting: Delegates support review of marijuana’s schedule I status
• AMA meeting: Keep hands off the handhelds, drivers urged
• AMA meeting: Nap time mandate for on-call residents rejected
• AMA meeting: No flu shot mandate for doctors; hand sanitizer pushed
• AMA meeting: Are doctors responsible for controlling health care costs?

Nov. 18, 2009:

• DEA enforces written order requirement for schedule II drugs

Nov. 10, 2009:

• Physicians give hospital chaplains high approval rating

Nov. 9, 2009:

• Journal editors propose detailed disclosure form for authors
• Fertility doctors tighten guidelines in wake of “octomom” controversy

Nov. 6, 2009:

• Patient safety after hospital discharge challenging

Nov. 3, 2009:

• Family physicians’ partnership with Coke draws criticism

Oct. 29, 2009:

• 10% of seniors’ ED visits related to falls

Oct. 26, 2009:

• Doctors called on to screen all adults for depression
• Medicare’s no-pay rule has little financial impact

Oct. 19, 2009:

• Assisted-suicide statute challenged by 2 Connecticut doctors
• Commercial CME loses funding from second drug firm
• EMR alerts can signal abnormal tests, but some doctors don’t use them

Oct. 12, 2009:

• Quality improvement tool available for doctors, hospitals

Oct. 5, 2009:

• Doctor’s rap on H1N1 prevention wins HHS contest
• Resident duty hours: Does more sleep mean safer care?

Sept. 30, 2009:

• Joint Commission opens center to develop patient safety solutions

Sept. 28, 2009:

• Doctors often register unconscious bias against blacks, study finds

Sept. 21, 2009:

• Surgical quality program cuts complications, patient deaths

Sept. 18, 2009:

• New quality measures gauge medication adherence

Sept. 14, 2009:

• Pfizer pays record $2.3 billion in off-label drug marketing settlement

Sept. 9, 2009:

• Research subjects want to know investigators’ financial ties

Sept. 7, 2009:

• Outsourcing clinical trials: Is it ethical to take drug studies abroad?
• Physicians know FDA-OK’d uses for drugs half the time

Sept. 2, 2009:

• Bioethicists fight myths over rationing, end-of-life care

Aug. 31, 2009:

• 75% of discharge summaries don’t mention pending test results
• Quality-of-care concerns add to doctors’ stress

Aug. 28, 2009:

• Cancer mortality rates declining with each generation

Aug. 24, 2009:

• End-of-life care provision stirs angst in health reform debate

Aug. 20, 2009:

• AAP approves withdrawal of artificial nutrition from children in certain cases

Aug. 17, 2009:

• Has kidney trafficking come to the U.S.?

Aug. 10, 2009:

• Industry gift bans slammed for overreaching

Aug. 7, 2009:

• Patients can cope with learning their Alzheimer’s risks

July 27, 2009:

• Liver transplant for Apple CEO turns spotlight on organ system inequities
• New York OKs paying women who donate eggs for research

July 24, 2009:

• Half of parents misinterpret OTC cough and cold medication labels

July 22, 2009:

• CMS releases more hospital quality data

July 20, 2009:

• Can protecting patients be made recession-proof?

July 16, 2009:

• Patients don’t hear of abnormal results 7% of the time

July 13, 2009:

• Treating celebrities not all glitz and glamour

July 8, 2009:

• FDA found lax in regulating medical devices

July 6, 2009:

• 5 people die under Washington physician-assisted suicide law
• Transplant physicians face ethics of paternity discoveries

June 29, 2009:

• AMA meeting: Doctors get to see how ethics bar is set
• AMA meeting: AMA exhorts doctors to offer charity care, help the uninsured
• AMA meeting: Delegates see boosting quality of care as duty

June 26, 2009:

• Pertussis risk much higher among unvaccinated children

June 22, 2009:

• Many hospitals cut back on infection-control efforts

June 18, 2009:

• Retail clinics avoid medically underserved areas

June 15, 2009:

• Doctors, lung cancer patients skirt hospice talk

June 4, 2009:

• Clinics fall short in treatment of transgender patients, doctors

June 3, 2009:

• First-degree murder charge brought in slaying of Kansas ob-gyn

June 2, 2009:

• Kansas physician who performed abortions killed

June 1, 2009:

• Vermont bans industry gifts, tightens reporting rules
• Prevalence of C. diff in hospitals

May 27, 2009:

• Health care quality showing slow improvement

May 25, 2009:

• Industry conflicts common in cancer studies

May 19, 2009:

• Hand hygiene tough to enforce, measure

May 18, 2009:

• Yale obstetrics plan cuts adverse events by 40%
• N.C. court overturns ban on doctor participation in executions

May 15, 2009:

• Lingering myths discourage organ donation

May 11, 2009:

• IOM warns about physician-pharma conflicts of interest
• Court upholds Vermont law on prescribing data privacy

May 7, 2009:

• Medical professionals involved in Guantanamo interrogations

May 4, 2009:

• NIH policy loosening stem cell research restrictions disappoints both sides in debate
• Doctor discipline inches up but still off 14% from peak
• Medical students taking free online courses in quality, safety

April 30, 2009:

• Patient safety experts see aviation group as model for health care

April 27, 2009:

• IRB disclosure policies, review procedures found lacking

April 23, 2009:

• Maryland short on surgeons

April 16, 2009:

• 1 in 5 Medicare patients readmitted within a month after hospital release

April 13, 2009:

• Pharma support of medical societies raises conflict-of-interest concerns
• Success from surgical checklists breeds idea for ethical checks

April 9, 2009:

• 2% leave hospital against medical advice

April 6, 2009:

• Initiative to cut catheter infections expands
• Mass. sets new rules for contact with drug industry

April 2, 2009:

• Calif. pay-for-performance program gets mixed reviews

March 30, 2009:

• A miscarriage of medicine (book excerpt: “Three Generations, No Imbeciles”)
• Discussing death with patients can cut costs, ease abandonment fears

March 23, 2009:

• Doctors increasingly close doors to drug reps, while pharma cuts ranks
• Doctor faces assisted-suicide charge in Georgia
• Bills seek to regulate in vitro fertilization

March 19, 2009:

• National Quality Forum sets bar for culturally competent care

March 9, 2009:

• Doctors override most e-Rx safety alerts
• Mailing reminders boosts colon cancer screening
• Wash. completes final rules on physician-assisted suicide

March 5, 2009:

• Racial gap in surviving patients after surgical complications

March 2, 2009:

• Most IRB rules don’t ban finder’s fees for clinical trials

Feb. 26, 2009:

• New treatment guidelines address chronic pain

Feb. 23, 2009:

• Kidney foundation plan targets financial barriers to donation
• “Sunshine” bill sets $100 trigger for disclosing industry pay to doctors

Feb. 16, 2009:

• Octuplets case sparks ethics uproar over IVF excess and patient screening
  – Gold award, best single news article, American Society of Healthcare Publication Editors

• States consider requiring hospitals to screen for MRSA

Feb. 12, 2009:

• Hospital error-reporting systems falling short

Feb. 9, 2009:

• Doctor quits prison job over execution
• AMA makes Web site more doctor friendly

Feb. 5, 2009:

• Intricate cancer treatments raise drug error risk, study says

Feb. 2, 2009:

• Guidelines target stem cell medical tourism

Jan. 29, 2009:

• Montana judge rejects stay of physician-assisted suicide ruling

Jan. 26, 2009:

• TV doctors’ flaws become bioethics teaching moments

Jan. 19, 2009:

• Redefining death: A new ethical dilemma

Jan. 15, 2009:

• Technology used wrongly harms patients, Joint Commission warns

Jan. 12, 2009:

• Quality reports for hospitals inconsistent

Jan. 5, 2009:

• Medical centers reveal doctors’ industry pay
• Defective directives? Struggling with end-of-life care

Dec. 29, 2008:

• Montana court OKs assisted suicide
• New partnership targets health care quality

Dec. 22, 2008:

• New Hampshire ban on sale of prescribing data upheld

Dec. 15, 2008:

• Many doctors say they offer OTC meds or other placebos

Dec. 8, 2008:

• Doctors urge: Rescue primary care or work force shortage will mount

Dec. 1, 2008:

• AMA meeting: Disruptive behavior standard draws fire
• AMA meeting: Doctors told to reveal financial stake in referrals
• AMA meeting: Delegates weigh ethics committee’s role
• AMA meeting: Global warming has health toll, delegates warn

Nov. 24, 2008:

• Washington becomes 2nd state to allow physician-assisted suicide

Nov. 17, 2008:

• Drugmakers vow to disclose their payments to physicians

Nov. 10, 2008:

• Calif. law mandates discussing end-of-life options

Nov. 3, 2008:

• More hospitals start palliative care programs

Oct. 27, 2008:

• Polls show Washington voters favor physician-assisted suicide

Oct. 20, 2008:

• Elections seen as turning point for stem cell studies

Oct. 13, 2008:

• Flu shots plentiful, doctors urged to get as well as give
• Other nations, other answers: In search of a solution to the organ shortage

Oct. 6, 2008:

• Trade “accreditation” could confuse medical tourists
• Drug samples can mean fewer generic prescriptions for the uninsured

Sept. 22, 2008:

• HHS site invites public to compare mortality rates at 4,700 hospitals
• Sponges, surgical instruments miscounted in 13% of cases

Sept. 15, 2008:

• Researchers urge pay for egg donors

Sept. 8, 2008:

• Time to get tough? States increasingly offer ways to opt out of vaccine mandates
• Legal risk for prescribing painkillers is small, study says

Sept. 1, 2008:

• Medical blog analysis fuels call for standards

Aug. 25, 2008:

• Most states have good rules on pain medicine

Aug. 18, 2008:

• New Joint Commission standard tells hospitals to squelch disruptive behaviors
• Psychiatrists scrutinize APA’s revenues from drug industry
• Quick View: Uninsured problem lowers U.S. health system’s performance score

Aug. 11, 2008:

• Hospitals shine light on mistakes by publicly saying: “We’re sorry”
• Ethics consultants get doses of realism through simulations

Aug. 4, 2008:

• P4P found to have little impact on quality
• Ethics panel may back universal coverage, ponders access as a “moral imperative”

July 28, 2008:

• Drug industry: No more free pens, pads or mugs
• AMA apologizes for past inequality against black doctors

July 14, 2008:

• Medicare’s no-pay events: Coping with the complications
• California bill would mandate discussions of end-of-life options

July 7, 2008:

• AMA tool kit helps doctors measure, boost patient comprehension
• AMA meeting: AMA OKs palliative sedation for terminally ill
• AMA meeting: Delegates seek to change law on organ donor incentives
• AMA meeting: Delegates explore on-call coverage, at-home genetic tests

June 16, 2008:

• National safety effort targets perinatal injuries
• FDA drug safety review to start with Medicare
• Quick View: Barriers to prescribing opioids

June 9, 2008:

• Formula for rationing care: Task forces plan for disaster

May 19, 2008:

• Hospitalized kids found at risk for drug errors

May 12, 2008:

• Doctor disciplinary actions down for 3rd year
• CMS seeks to add 9 hospital-acquired conditions to no-pay list
• Oregon still stands alone: Ten years of physician-assisted suicide
  – Gold award, feature article, American Society of Business Publication Editors Midwest-South Region

May 5, 2008:

• Public pleas for organs fuel ethical qualms

April 28, 2008:

• U.S. report finds sluggish increases in quality of care

April 21, 2008:

• Patients generally pleased with hospital care

April 14, 2008:

• ACOG may redo abortion conscience policy
• Similar drug-name pairs nearly double 2004 tally

March 24-31, 2008:

• Is their integrity on the line when doctors pitch products?

March 17, 2008:

• CMS metric may prompt excessive antibiotic use
• Quick View: To err is human, to report is hard

March 10, 2008:

• Michigan patient safety study gets HHS approval to resume

March 3, 2008:

• More heart transplants done, better outcomes

Feb. 18, 2008:

• Study questions impact of quality report cards
• IOM panel seeks program to evaluate research, guidelines

Feb. 11, 2008:

• New plan would require D.C. drug detailers to be licensed

Feb. 4, 2008:

• HHS shuts down Michigan patient safety study

Jan. 28, 2008:

• Economists’ study says paying for organs would cut wait lists
• Doctors use placebos but don’t tell patients
• Willing, but waiting: Hospital ethics committees

Jan. 21, 2008:

• New ACOG position on abortion refusal drawing fire

Jan. 7, 2008:

• No pay for “never event” errors becoming standard
• CT scans implicated in 2% of cancers

Dec. 24-31, 2007:

• Survey: Physicians falling short on professionalism

Dec. 17, 2007:

• Future doctors flunk military medical ethics test

Dec. 10, 2007:

• Stem cell breakthrough uses skin cells rather than embryos
• Quick View: Tracking MRSA

Dec. 3, 2007:

• AMA meeting: Principles aimed at better physician-hospital relations
• AMA meeting: Consent should be required for HIV testing, AMA says
• AMA meeting: CEJA to study doctors’ duty to guarantee access
• AMA meeting: Delegates seek tax credit to help pay for EMRs

Nov. 26, 2007:

• Bigger practice, better quality? Practice size not the complete answer

Nov. 19, 2007:

• Legislation targets drugmaker gifts, incentives to physicians
• Hospitals look to improve informed consent process

Nov. 12, 2007:

• Project seeks framework for quality, public reporting

Oct. 22/29, 2007:

• North Carolina medical board can’t discipline doctors for execution work

Oct. 1, 2007:

• Doctors often dismiss side effects, patient survey says
• Drug info firms target prescriber data laws
• Quick View: Testing the U.S. News rankings

Sept. 24, 2007:

• Washington state doctors lead their own quality appraisal
• New reps, new rap: The counter-detailers

Sept. 17, 2007:

• Annual study shows states moving to more balanced pain policies

Sept. 10, 2007:

• Report seeks more action on medication noncompliance

Sept. 3, 2007:

• Campaign targets TV’s skewed view of organ donation
• Drug rep creates stir with details on tricks of his trade

Aug. 13, 2007:

• EMRs don’t guarantee quality care, a review of 50,000 patient records shows
• Grand jury clears Dr. Pou; medicine wants to protect future disaster responders

Aug. 6, 2007:

• “SiCKO” tells sad story, but not the whole one
• New evidence finds disparities aren’t usually due to bias
• Quick View: Reluctant to prescribe

July 23-30, 2007:

• Katrina nurses might be forced to testify against physician

July 16, 2007:

• AMA meeting: CEJA to study how ethics may shift during disasters
• AMA meeting: Anti-discrimination policy extended to transgendered

July 9, 2007:

• Confronting eugenics: Does the now discredited practice have relevance to today’s technology?
• MRSA infection rate higher than earlier thought
• Quick View: EMRs don’t guarantee quality

July 2, 2007:

• Quality movement is “here to stay”: AMNews interviews Robert Haralson III, MD

June 25, 2007:

• Majority of hospitals slow to adopt routine apology policy

June 18, 2007:

• Medicare plans to stop paying for 6 hospital-acquired conditions
• House bill earmarks $3 billion in funds for comparative research

June 11, 2007:

• Quick View: Drug rep interaction widespread

June 4, 2007:

• Physicians pushing lawmakers to regulate burgeoning retail clinics
• Internists outline principles for quality ratings
• Quick View: Assessing quality on cardiovascular care

May 28, 2007:

• New Hampshire ban on sale of prescribing data is overruled

May 21, 2007:

• Pain doctor again found guilty of drug trafficking

May 14, 2007:

• Physicians resist push for execution involvement
• Battle over futile care erupts in Texas

May 7, 2007:

• Virginia: 14 is old enough to decide on medical treatment

April 23/30, 2007:

• Cost vs. compliance: Physicians encouraged to discuss prescriptions

April 16, 2007:

• More states eye reporting infection rates to give scrutiny to hospitals
• Physicians uneasy about how plans will set rankings
• Assisted-suicide bill in California clears first hurdle

April 9, 2007:

• Prisoner organ donation proposal worrisome

March 26, 2007:

• USP report details extent of surgery medication errors

March 19, 2007:

• High-deductible plans seen as risky for kids

March 12, 2007:

• Merck ends push for HPV vaccine mandate
• Physician-ethicist explains “Ashley treatment” decision

March 5, 2007:

• Big retail health clinics agree to AAFP operating guidelines
• Online tool helps assess safety procedures

Feb. 26, 2007:

• Will states follow Texas on HPV shot mandate?
• Testing embryos and ethics: Where do we draw the line?
• Quick View: First, determine what an error is

Feb. 19, 2007:

• Proposed uterine transplant sets off ethical debate

Feb. 5, 2007:

• Growth-curbing therapy spurs rights dispute

Jan. 29, 2007:

• States propose laws requiring HPV vaccine

Jan. 22, 2007:

• Effort cuts down on catheter-related infections

Jan. 15, 2007:

• Studies link infections to hospital processes

Jan. 1-8, 2007:

• IHI kicks off new patient safety initiative

Dec. 25, 2006:

• Will industry follow Pfizer lead on drug rep cuts?
• Testifying to torture: How doctors find the truth
• Doctors catalysts for pay-for-performance program

Dec. 4, 2006:

• Doctors demand more input on hospital standards
• AMA: It’s not OK to use placebos deceptively
• Ethics forum considers duty of physicians in public positions
• Delegates rally against unjust health plan conduct
• AMA wants limits on insurers’ use of EMR, claims data
• AMA to lead funding study to fight obesity

Nov. 27, 2006:

• Election 2006: No veto-proof majority on stem cell funding

Nov. 20, 2006:

• Hospitals hang up on cell phone restrictions
• Minorities wary of vague clinical trials

Nov. 6, 2006:

• Oregon nixes use of the term “physician-assisted suicide”
• Massachusetts coalition creates tracking form for patients’ medications
• FDA advised to rethink recall language on heart devices

Oct. 23/30, 2006:

• U.S. health care lagging behind other countries

Oct. 9, 2006:

• Screening after-hours calls can hurt patients, study finds

Oct. 2, 2006:

• DEA to let doctors write advance prescriptions for schedule II refills
  

Sept. 25, 2006:

• Study: Americans get a good return for their health care dollar
  

Sept. 18, 2006:

• IOM panel wants prisoners to be available for research

Sept. 11, 2006:

• New culture for coping: Turning to peer support after medical errors
• Physicians’ intents should be considered in pain cases
• Lobbying for her community: Looking for a paradigm shift

Aug. 28, 2006:

• North Carolina considers limits on physicians’ role in executions
• To heal or to enhance? Medicine grapples with “cosmetic neurology”
  – Silver award, best single news article, American Society of Healthcare Publication Editors

Aug. 21, 2006:

• Doctors, nurses link bad behavior in the OR with errors
• E-prescribing urged as one strategy to prevent medication errors

Aug. 7, 2006:

• Doctor, nurses arrested in Katrina deaths
• Bush vetoes bill allowing more federal funding for stem cell research
• Care for dying patients may be too aggressive

July 24/31, 2006:

• States to get pain policy report cards

July 17, 2006:

• Kidney transplant turns doctor into activist
• New group’s goal: 95% of heart patients get recommended care

July 10, 2006:

• IOM panel seeks lead federal agency on emergency care
• Insurers using more physician profiling, delegates told
• AMA: Doctors must tell patients the whole story

July 3, 2006:

• AMA adopts policy on interrogations
• Delegates focus on needs of terminally ill patients
• Hospitals beat “100,000 Lives” goal by 22,300

June 26, 2006:

• Debate arises over paying for eggs for research
  

June 19, 2006:

• Tests often ordered when not needed

June 12, 2006:

• Spotlight shifts to outpatient safety
• Harvard adopts a disclosure and apology policy

June 5, 2006:

• School aims to boost organ donation in brain-death cases

May 22/29, 2006:

• AMA opt-out program will keep prescribing data from drug reps
• The quality quandary: The problems with ratings

May 8, 2006:

• Hospitals try to improve patient safety in the OR
  

May 1, 2006:

• Volume-quality correlation not clear cut, study says
  

April 24, 2006:

• Rx monitoring effect on minorities questioned
  

April 10, 2006:

• Quality of care nearly equal if access is equal
  

April 3, 2006:

• Physicians speak out on prisoner force-feeding
  

March 27, 2006:

• Safety by design: Starting from the ground up
  – Gold award, best case history, American Society of Healthcare Publication Editors

March 20, 2006:

• More states considering gift-disclosure legislation
• Spanish prescription labels available, but quality at issue

March 13, 2006:

• Controversial California ruling focuses on physician role in execution
  

March 6, 2006:

• Broader conscience clauses would expand physicians’ right of refusal
  

Feb. 27, 2006:

• U.S. looks to boost safety rules for medevac flights

Feb. 20, 2006:

• Only 1 medical school uses classic version of Hippocratic oath

Feb. 13, 2006:

• Ruling may ease DEA pressure on pain prescribers
• Washington state hospital sees 96% compliance with flu shots

Feb. 6, 2006:

• Care better for blacks, worse for Hispanics
• Impact of Oregon ruling: Will more states allow assisted suicide?

Jan. 30, 2006:

• Money offer spurs questions about face transplant ethics

Jan. 23, 2006:

• Wisconsin group to measure physician quality, efficiency

Jan. 16, 2006:

• Quality evaluations enhanced by patient feedback
• Buy your own lunch: No chance of reciprocity

Jan. 2/9, 2006:

• States target serious errors that never should happen
• Ethical considerations found lacking in preparedness plans for bird flu outbreak

Dec. 19, 2005:

• Korean stem cell lie stirs up ethical debate

Dec. 12, 2005:

• New York sues over device maker’s lack of disclosure

Dec. 5, 2005:

• AMA honors Dr. O’Leary for JCAHO leadership

Nov. 28, 2005:

• Delegates urge more effective use of doctors in disaster response
• AMA to set guidelines on control of record data
• Doctors responsible for reality TV show participants’ health
• AMA adopts plan for pandemic
• Delegates back collecting fees from patients at point of service
• CEJA to study GME funded by drug, device makers

Nov. 21, 2005:

• Doctors favor physician-assisted suicide less than patients do
• NCI to focus on cancer disparities in Asians

Nov. 14, 2005:

• New stem cell methods seek to break ethical impasse
• New insurance options may lead patients to skip care

Nov. 7, 2005:

• 100,000 Lives Campaign: Hospitals join patient safety plan

Oct. 24/31, 2005:

• Court hears physician-assisted suicide case

Oct. 17, 2005:

• Face transplant plans renew ethical debate
• Patients may ignore “unnecessary” care

Oct. 10, 2005:

• President’s bioethics panel gets new leadership, direction
• Federal law aims more money at curbing drug diversion

Oct. 3, 2005:

• Doctor training starts here in 7th grade

Sept. 26, 2005:

• Bill barring genetic discrimination stalls in House

Sept. 19, 2005:

• FDA once again delays Plan B’s OTC bid

Sept. 12, 2005:

• Surgery, chronic care are worst in racial health gap

Sept. 5, 2005:

• Panel sets primary care standards for Medicare pay-for-performance
• Data highlight health gaps for Hispanic kids

Aug. 22/29, 2005:

• Physicians caught in a spot with heart-device recalls

Aug. 15, 2005:

• Quality changes by hospitals aren’t across the board
• Wisconsin physicians bracing for jump in insurance costs