Increase in prescriptions from docs could mean increase in perks for them

Lisa Chedekel of the Connecticut Health I-Team has found that in some cases "practitioners who wrote out hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of prescriptions were also receiving thousands in compensation from the drug-makers."

"As the number of farmers markets has surged questions arise about whether food-safety oversight has kept pace. The USDA and the FDA set federal guidelines, wbut jurisdiction over farmers markets falls to a dizzying welter of state or local health or agriculture departments"

"In a spot check of 29 markets scattered among 10 states and the District of Columbia, reporters for E.W. Scripps Co. found that nearly two-thirds (18) had not been inspected within a year. And a third (10) lacked hand-washing facilities, a sanitation basic."

In a three-part series The Bakersfield Californian examines Kern County, California's high number of foreign-trained doctors and the impact it has on patient care.

Using the training she learned at an IRE Boot Camp, Christine Bedell, along with her colleague Kellie Schmitt, were able to make their own database to look at how many foreign-trained doctors were board-certified and how that effects their community.

"An investigation by NPR and the Center for Public Integrity found federal regulators and the mining industry are failing to protect miners from the excessive toxic coal mine dust that causes black lung. The disease is now being diagnosed in younger miners and evolving more quickly to complicated stages."

"The report also reveals widespread and persistent gaming of the system that's designed to measure and control the coal mine dust that causes the deadly disease."

"A Palm Beach Post investigation has found that a CDC officer had reported a tuberculosis outbreak in Jacksonville, Fla., one of the worst his group had seen in 20 years, but the report went unseen by key decision makers around the state."

"The outbreak, linked to 13 deaths and 99 illnesses, would require concerted action to stop. However, instead of keeping a hospital that has been treating TB for 60 years open, an order went out that the hospital must be closed six months ahead of schedule."

An Arizona Star investigation has found that "one in three Arizona schools last year had kindergarten classes with vaccination rates so low children were left vulnerable to infectious disease outbreaks such as measles, mumps or pertussis."

It was discovered that "the worst offenders, by far, are charter and private schools, some with vaccination rates as low as 50 percent in Pima County and under 30 percent in Maricopa County. Rates need to be 80 percent to 95 percent, depending on the disease, to prevent the spread of infection."

A Chicago Tribune investigation has found that the flame retardants that are packed into couches, chairs and many other products are not working as promised. Furthermore, two powerful industries--Big Tobacco and chemical manufacturers have waged a deceptive campaign that led to the proliferation of these chemicals.

Sam Roe, Patricia Callahan and Michael Hawthorne utilized DocumentCloud to provide proof of the deception and its' widespread effect.

Duff Wilson and Janet Roberts, for Reuters, report on "how food and beverage companies have dominated policymaking in Washington by doubling their lobbying expenditures during the past three years and defeating government proposals aimed at changing the nation’s diet."

Reuters Investigates TV also produced a video about "how the food industry fought back when the White House sought healthier school lunches and Congress directed federal agencies to set nutrition standards."

"USA Today’s investigative team found the EPA failed to tell people about or take action on hundreds of former lead smelting sites they’d known about for years. Alison Young and Pete Eisler tested the soil around former plants in 13 states and found potentially dangerous levels of lead remain in people’s yards and in parks."

This multi-part look into long-forgotten lead factories includes nearly 370 site-related documents, using DocumentCloud; video interviews with parents whose children play in their lead contaminated back yards; an interactive map telling you where smelters once were in your area; tips on how to make your home and yard safer and much more.