What We Do
Hospital Watchdog provides patients and families with the information they need to recognize medical harm, understand their rights, and pursue answers and accountability.
After Medical Harm, Each Hospital Has a Team That Knows Just What to Do. But Who Helps the Family?
When a suspected medical error causes serious harm or death, the hospital’s risk-management team follows procedures to protect the institution and its staff. Staff receive instructions and legal advice.
Meanwhile, the harmed patient and family are most often left on their own. Shocked, injured, or grieving, they may not know what happened, which records to request, what questions to ask, or where to seek help.
Hospital Watchdog recognized that harmed patients and families need independent help—and decided to fill that need. We provide candid, practical information to help them obtain records, preserve evidence, pursue answers, and understand their options.
We cannot eliminate the imbalance of institutional power. But we can help families become informed, organized, and better prepared to protect their interests.
We Investigate Medical Harm to Make Hospital Care Safer
We publish investigative articles and videos grounded in the experiences of real patients and families. Our reporting draws on federal and state inspection findings—including CMS Statements of Deficiencies—as well as court filings, medical records, death certificates, and sworn testimony.
Our Board of Advisors includes professionals with decades of experience in patient advocacy, nursing, medicine, pharmacy, law, and government healthcare oversight.
By documenting the key details of unsafe care and failures of hospital oversight, we inform the public, seek accountability, and advocate for safer hospitals.