Association of Health Care Journalists
Encyclopedia
The Association of Health Care Journalists is an independent, nonprofit organization
dedicated to advancing public understanding of health care
issues. Its mission is to improve the quality, accuracy and visibility of health care reporting, writing and editing. There are more than 1,100 members of AHCJ. The Association is based in Columbia, Missouri
, at the Missouri School of Journalism
.
and advocates on behalf of health journalists and the free flow of information. The Center presents training events, publishes educational materials and undertakes other educational projects aimed at improving the state of health journalism
.
The Association advocates for high ethical standards in health care reporting and has taken a position against news organizations entering into arrangements with hospitals that improperly influence health coverage, urged reporters to resist signing confidentiality agreements with hospitals and opposed secrecy clauses in contracts between medical device manufacturers and hospitals.
Nonprofit organization
Nonprofit organization is neither a legal nor technical definition but generally refers to an organization that uses surplus revenues to achieve its goals, rather than distributing them as profit or dividends...
dedicated to advancing public understanding of health care
Health care
Health care is the diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of disease, illness, injury, and other physical and mental impairments in humans. Health care is delivered by practitioners in medicine, chiropractic, dentistry, nursing, pharmacy, allied health, and other care providers...
issues. Its mission is to improve the quality, accuracy and visibility of health care reporting, writing and editing. There are more than 1,100 members of AHCJ. The Association is based in Columbia, Missouri
Columbia, Missouri
Columbia is the fifth-largest city in Missouri, and the largest city in Mid-Missouri. With a population of 108,500 as of the 2010 Census, it is the principal municipality of the Columbia Metropolitan Area, a region of 164,283 residents. The city serves as the county seat of Boone County and as the...
, at the Missouri School of Journalism
Missouri School of Journalism
The Missouri School of Journalism at University of Missouri in Columbia, claims to be the oldest formal journalism school in the world. Founded in 1908, only the Ecole Supérieure de Journalisme de Paris established in 1899 may be older...
.
History
The Association incorporated in 1998 and procured 501(c)3 status in 1999. In 2004 (at the fifth national conference in Minneapolis), the membership approved conversion of the Association to a 501(c)6 trade association with a supporting 501(c)3 charitable organization - the Center for Excellence in Health Care Journalism. The association holds annual meetings, publishes newsletters, operates a websiteWebsite
A website, also written as Web site, web site, or simply site, is a collection of related web pages containing images, videos or other digital assets. A website is hosted on at least one web server, accessible via a network such as the Internet or a private local area network through an Internet...
and advocates on behalf of health journalists and the free flow of information. The Center presents training events, publishes educational materials and undertakes other educational projects aimed at improving the state of health journalism
Journalism
Journalism is the practice of investigation and reporting of events, issues and trends to a broad audience in a timely fashion. Though there are many variations of journalism, the ideal is to inform the intended audience. Along with covering organizations and institutions such as government and...
.
Resources
AHCJ and the Center offer a number of resources and services intended to help journalists do in-depth and accurate reporting on health and health care issues. Its initiatives include the Awards for Excellence in Health Care Journalism, an active Web site and blog, annual conferences, smaller training events, online training, and fellowships.Awards
The Awards for Excellence in Health Care Journalism are notable as the only awards program for health journalism that is not influenced or funded by commercial or special-interest groups, an issue that has received scrutiny recently.The Association advocates for high ethical standards in health care reporting and has taken a position against news organizations entering into arrangements with hospitals that improperly influence health coverage, urged reporters to resist signing confidentiality agreements with hospitals and opposed secrecy clauses in contracts between medical device manufacturers and hospitals.