William Heisel

The simple act of putting the emphasis on the person and not on their health problem – be it a drug use disorder or something else – will have an impact on how you view the sources of your stories and how the story connects with your audience.

Drug use, misuse and addiction are so embedded in our popular culture that we have grown accustomed to seeing, hearing or reading about every permutation of the experience.

Recent stories from the New York Times and the Washington Post encapsulate why language choices are so important for responsible reporting on addiction.

Now that President Trump has officially declared the opioid crisis a national emergency, data can inform how to properly tackle the problem, community by community.

The California Supreme Court just armed would be challengers to the state’s prescription drug tracking system. And defanging the system would have an impact on patient safety.

Does the California Medical Board have the right to check records to see if a doctor is recklessly prescribing drugs? For the past three years, that question has been stuck in the courts.

"I had to come to accept that the hospital wasn’t looking at me as a whole person — just a combination of vital signs, lab work, symptoms, and medical and nursing orders," writes Joy Victory.

One writer shares her story of how the health care system missed repeated warning signs of preeclampsia while giving birth to her daughter. She later found her medical record was rife with mistakes and omissions.

Paying attention to the language that people use when they are relating something they say happened to them is one of the best techniques you can use for “catching and releasing” those dubious fish stories.

When it turns out a source has been lying to you about a central theme of a story you care deeply about, it can be agonizing to have to own up to that fact.