Two more nominations for the Paul Giamatti award

And now, two of my own:

Medical errors and iatrogenisis: The Institute of Medicine undertook a two year health care quality initiative that issued two major reports in 2000 and 2001. They found that as many as 98,000 Americans die in hospitals every year from preventable errors -- just the tip of the iceberg of medical error, of course -- and they recommended major changes in health care delivery.

Is that one of the top 25 stories of the past 25 years? I would say so!

Racial and ethnic disparities in health and health care: In 2002, another report, "Unequal Treatment: Confronting Racial and Ethnic Disparities in Health Care, found that a consistent body of research demonstrates significant variation in the rates of medical procedures by race, even when insurance status, income, age, and severity of conditions are comparable. This research indicates that U.S. racial and ethnic minorities are less likely to receive even routine medical procedures and experience a lower quality of health services."

Is that news? Maybe not if you're one of the overwhelmingly white, Anglo corps of reporters and editors . . .