The IRE Resource Center is a major research library containing more than 23,250 investigative stories — both print and broadcast. These stories are searchable online or by contacting the Resource Center directly (573-882-3364 or rescntr@ire.org) where a researcher can help you pinpoint what you need. Browse or search the tipsheet section of our library below. Stories are not available for download but can be easily ordered by contacting the Resource Center:
Search results for "drug regulators" ...
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A rampant prescription, a hidden peril
The series investigated nursing homes’ use of antipsychotic medications on the elderly, a practice the US Food and Drug and Administration has long warned against because of potentially fatal side effects in people with dementia. The Boston Globe analyzed data from 15,600 nursing homes nationwide and found that about 185,000 residents received antipsychotics in 2010 alone, despite not having a medical condition that warranted such use. The series also revealed that Massachusetts nursing homes commonly use antipsychotics to control agitation and combative behavior in elderly residents who should not be receiving the powerful sedatives, yet state regulators seldom use their authority to reprimand or penalize facilities for this practice.
Tags: Antipsychotics; FDA; nursing homes; Alzheimer's disease
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Meningitis Outbreak
When an unprecedented outbreak of fungal meningitis began last fall in Tennessee, The Tennessean reacted with aggressive and highly interactive coverage that has led the nation. Before other media realized the significance of the outbreak, which has sickened more than 650 people in 19 states, The Tennessean was already analyzing the regulation of specialty pharmacies and digging into the contracts and connections of the New England Compounding Center, the Massachusetts firm suspected of shipping contaminated steroids responsible for the illnesses. As of today, the outbreak has killed 40 people nationwide, 14 of them in Tennessee. More than a hundred more are still sick. We quickly reported problems associated with New England Compounding Center, lag times on informing victims and regulation slip-ups in the drug compounding industry that allowed companies to operate outside of the law.
Tags: Health; meningitis; New England Compounding Center; steroids
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Guns in America & The ATF's "Fast and Furious" Experiment
The year-long investigation exposed myriad lapses and loopholes in the nation's gun laws and regulations that have fueled the drug
Tags: guns; NRA; ATF; National Instant Criminal Background Check System
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Guns in America & The ATF's "Fast and Furious" Experiment
The year-long investigation exposed myriad lapses and loopholes in the nation's gun laws and regulations that have fueled the drug
Tags: guns; NRA; ATF; National Instant Criminal Background Check System
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"Lifesaving Drugs, Deadly Consequences"
This investigative piece looks at worker safety issues that affect "the nation's healthcare providers." Health care employees are often put in harms way by handling drugs that are meant to save the "lives of cancer patients," but can be "human carcinogens," too. This report shows that regulation on exposure to these types of drugs in the workplace is weak.
Tags: FOIA; health insurance; Occupational Safety and Health Administration; cancer; OSHA; drugs; chemotherapy
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DUI Pilots: Warning Signs Ignored
KIRO-TV found that only a small fraction of the pilots caught for abusing alcohol or drugs were actually being monitored by federal regulators. The reporter discovered with computed assisted reporting how easy it is for these pilots to manipulate the system and avoid detection.
Tags: airplanes; DUI; drunk-driving; regulation; pilots
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Cashing in on Kids
Child-care programs were setup to encourage low income parents to get and keep their jobs. This program covered the cost of child care, but as it turns out "millions of taxpayer dollars" were misused by corrupt parents and daycare providers. Further, this series revealed a number of drug dealers can be tied to the daycare providers. Also, it revealed how regulators overlooked the problem, lawmakers and their weak laws, and workers trying to bring this to attention and their bosses shutting them down.
Tags: child care; corruption; scamming; cost; criminals; daycare; children; fraud
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Side Effects
Side Effects tells the story of a court case and the personal story that surrounded the making and unmasking of a bestselling drug, Paxil. "It chronicles the lives of two women - a prosecutor and a whistleblower - who exposes the pattern of deception in the research and marketing of Paxil, an antidepressant prescribed to millions of children and adults."
Tags: Paxil; FDA; side-effects; GlaxoSmithKline; drug regulators; drug regulation; depression in children; clinical trials; misappropriation;
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The Evidence Gap
The nations' medical bill last year exceeded $2.7 trillin -- nearly as much as the projected total cost of the Iraq war. If it were medical money well spend, there might be few cries to "reform" the American health care system. But by some estimates, one-third or more of the medical care received by patients in this country may be virtually worthless. The nation is wasting hundreds of billions of dollars each year on superfluous treatments -- money that otherwise could by spent, for example , on providing health insurance for every child, woman and man int his country who currently have no coverage. A team of science and business reporters from The New York Times set out to explain how and why the United States is spending so much on health care with so relatively little to show for the money, They discovered a gaping chasm between scientific evidence and the practice of medicine. In an in-depth series of articles, told through real doctors and patients, and based on information they dug up that was frequently unflattering to medical providers, companies and regulators, the Times team documented many disturbing instances of "The Evidence Gap."
Tags: health care; CT angiograms; Avastin; cancer treatment; reckless spending; Food and Drug Administration; mammograms
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Chemical Fallout
"The reporters exposed inept government programs that favor chemical makers over the needs of the public. They detailed conflicts of interest among regulators and uncovered new hidden threats for consumers. The newspaper tested common household plastics billed as "microwave safe" and found toxic levels of chemicals leaching from every item tested."
Tags: chemicals; toxins; public safety; government protection; bisphenol A; Environmental Protection Agency; Food and Drug Administration;