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 "medical emergency" ...
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Cracking the Codes
Cracking the Codes documented how thousands of medical professionals have steadily billed Medicare for more complex and costly health care over the past decade – adding $11 billion or more to their fees – despite little evidence elderly patients required more treatment. The series also uncovered a broad range of costly billing errors and abuses that have plagued Medicare for years – from confusion over how to pick proper payment codes to apparent overcharges in medical offices and hospital emergency rooms. The findings strongly suggest these problems, known as “upcoding,” are worsening amid lax federal oversight and the government-sponsored switch from paper to electronic medical records.
Tags: Medicare; health care; billing; medical offices; hospitals; government; medical records
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Consumer Medical Investigations
CBS explored bogus health plans, one of the biggest consumer fraud issues to emerge from the economic recession.
Tags: medical care; haggling; consumer fraud; health care
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"33 Minutes to 34 Right"
When Continental Flight 1404 crashed during its landing at the Denver International Airport, it took ambulance responses teams 33 minutes to reach the crash site. KMGH-TV's investigation reveals critical problems with Denver's ambulance system and dispatch center, as well as with the city's overall preparedness for emergency response.
Tags: Denver International Airport; Continental Flight 1404; Denver Health Medical Center; plane crash
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The Siren Song of Alcohol
Iowa City, home to the University of Iowa, is facing a staggering upward trend of alcohol-related injury. Ambulance calls taking place at night and early morning hours are consuming and straining city emergency medical response resources. Binge drinking, drunk driving, and blacking out have all on the rise over the last five years.
Tags: drunk; drinking; alcohol; Iowa City; University of Iowa; binge; ambulance; injury; blackout; driving; intoxication; strain; resources; emergency; violence; deaths;
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Government Orders Columbia to Tell Patients 'True Nature' of Drug Study
Columbia University Medical Center conducted a study with experimental surgical fluid on patients undergoing open heart surgery. Subjects were not made aware of the risks of potentially fatal bleeding caused by the fluid. Some of the study's subjects were poor, Spanish-speaking patients who were enrolled without giving formal consent. At least two patients died and more than two dozen required transfusions.
Tags: Columbia University Medical Center; open heart; surgery; fluid; internal bleeding; fatal; study; experimental; emergency room;
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Code 3
"Code 3" focused on ambulance delays in San Francisco and provided a rare glimpse inside an inherently complex and often secretive bureaucracy. The project began as a two-day series and continued with several follow-up reports. Paramedics and quality control experts say the city does not have enough ambulances and needs to hire more paramedics. A history of tensions between paramedics and firefighters, and a lack of coordination between the Fire Department, the Department of Emergency Management and the Public Health Department, continues to undercut the city's 911 medical responses and the quality of care. The city does not collect sufficient data on 911 responses to fully audit ambulance delays, examine particular treatments and learn from clinical mistakes
Tags: ambulances; emergency response; San Francisco; first responders; fire department; department of emergency management; public health department
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I Didn't Do That Murder; New Light On Old Case
Based on questions reporter Christine Young raised in her reporting of a 1987 murder conviction, the Manhattan District Attorney's Office, in a rare decision, is re-investigating the murder case of Michaelanne Hall, a prostitute brutally murdered in 1989. The man convicted for the crime, Lebrew Jones, was a mentally retarded security guard and his conviction rested on a nonsensical statement he gave to police. Now 51, Jones is awaiting DNA test results from the fingernail clippings of the murder victim. Also, a potentially viable suspect has emerged as a result of Young's work.
Tags: wrongful conviction; Manhattan medical examiner's office; prostitution; runaways; murder; DNA testing; Innocence Project; developmentally disabled
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Code 3
"'Code 3,' a two-day series that focused on ambulance delays in San Francisco, provided a rare glimpse inside an inherently complex and often secretive bureaucracy." Findings included: 439 people died while waiting for the ambulance to arrive; in 27 percent of high-priority medical calls, first responders failed to meet the city's time standard; and the city's 911 call center was the weakest link.
Tags: Philip Meyer Award; ambulance; response time; 911; Fire Department; Department of Emergency Management; death; medicine;
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Sick
"'Sick' tells the story of eight individuals from around the country to examine what happens when people struggle to pay for their medical care. Along the way, it also tells the story of health insurance in America- how it evolved, how it operates today, and what's likely to happen to it in the future."
Tags: health care; medicaid; hospital; emergency room;
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EMS Taxi: Health Care Dysfunction on Wheels
An analysis of the public records database found that Cleveland residents were calling 911 to be picked up by Emergency Medical Service ambulances for minor ailments. This is because dispatchers can't say no. The result is that response times are slow and the transportation is a high cost for the city.
Tags: transportation; emergency medical services; Medicaid; Medicare; Metrohealth Medical Center; Cleveland; ambulance; 911; database; health; medicine;