Alicia Gallegos

Award-winning Journalist, Science Writer, Legal Reporter

United States

Alicia is an award-winning journalist specializing in law, science, and the business of medicine. She reports full time for Retraction Watch, a publication operated by The Center for Scientific Integrity. Alicia previously covered health law and policy for Medscape News and served as Senior Reporter for MDedge, where she wrote about the intersection of law and medicine. Alicia's work has also appeared in WebMD and publications for the American Medical Association, the American College of Physicians, the Association for American Medical Colleges, the Michigan State Medical Society, and the Journal for the American Health Information Management Association. Ms. Gallegos is a former fellow of Investigative Reporters and Editors (IRE) and of the Poynter Institute for Media Studies.

Portfolio

Scientific Integrity

Retraction Watch
10/03/2025
Wiley retracts study stolen by reviewer, following Retraction Watch coverage

A Wiley journal has retracted a paper more than a year after a researcher reported the work was hers and had been stolen by a reviewer for another journal. As we reported in July, Shafaq Aftab, now a lecturer at the University of Central Punjab in Pakistan, contacted Wiley in September 2024 after discovering a...

Retraction Watch
03/06/2026
Librarian finds 'preposterous number' of fake references in paper from Springer Nature journal

Gunnar Ridderström/Pexels As a hospital librarian, Jessica Waite is typically successful at tracking down elusive articles for clinicians at Royal Hallamshire Hospital in England. So when a colleague couldn't locate two references in a paper and asked for help, the librarian grew suspicious."These were recent references, which usually we have no problem finding," Waite told...

Retraction Watch
02/06/2026
U.S. ORI's first finding of 2026: Researcher faked data in grant apps

A former cancer researcher at University of Oklahoma Health Science Center has been barred from participating in federally funded research without supervision for three years after the U.S. Office of Research Integrity found he falsified data in grant applications. Daniel Andrade committed research misconduct by falsifying data in two grant applications, according to a summary...

Investigative

Medscape News
03/25/2020
Hospitals Muzzle Doctors and Nurses on PPE, COVID-19 Cases

Hospitals are warning physicians not to speak or post publicly about their COVID-19 experiences, including PPE shortages that are putting doctors' health in danger. Winner of 2021 Regional BRONZE award by the American Society of Business Press Editors.

Medscape News
02/01/2024
Grads Say Cheating Problem Is Rampant

Our investigation found clear evidence of the selling and buying of United States Medical Licensing Examination questions online. After questioning USMLE leaders and days before we planned to publish our report, the program announced it was invalidating scores due to "a pattern of anomalous exam performance."

Retraction Watch
07/25/2025
Reviewer accused of stealing manuscript and publishing it as his own denies he refereed it

An early-career researcher who discovered a nearly identical version of her manuscript published by the researcher who reviewed - and recommended rejecting - the work for another journal is still awaiting a resolution 10 months after reporting her concerns. Shafaq Aftab, now a lecturer at the University of Central Punjab in Pakistan, learned of the...

Healthcare

Insurance Barriers

Medscape News
07/22/2025
A Life on the Line and $250K in Medical Debt Amid Insurer Denials

After being diagnosed with a rare form of cancer at 35, Nathan Kirkland's only chance for a cure was a liver transplant. But his insurance company refused to pay for the procedure. Could a new AI company that fights claim denials turn the tables in time?

Medscape News
05/06/2025
Insurance Barriers to Obesity Care: Physicians Navigate Complex Prior Authorization Process

Caissa Troutman, MD, recently treated a patient in her early 50s who she planned to prescribe the anti-obesity medication Zepbound. The patient’s insurance covered Zepbound but required prior authorization. After going through the “tedious” prior authorization process, Troutman learned the insurer would only cover Zepbound for patients ...

Artificial Intelligence

Law

Medscape News
03/17/21
Falsely Accused MD

Urologist Joseph Oesterling was accused of overprescribing pain medication and faced up to 30 years in prison. He fought to maintain his innocence, despite an uphill battle against the government.

MDedge
07/19/16
Supreme Court offers mixed take on false claim liability

A U.S. Supreme Court ruling that expands liability under the federal False Claims Act (FCA) could have both positive and negative implications for physicians accused of submitting false claims to the government.

Narrative Writing

South Bend Tribune
12/1/2010
Dog mourns owner's death

Since her best friend's death, Zelda has taken to wandering. Neighbors spot the one-eyed, rust-colored dog roaming the farm roads near her home, heading in the direction of the cemetery.

Medscape News
12/08/2021
Electrocuted by 11,000 Volts, Now a Triple Amputee…and an MD

Bruce "BJ" Miller Jr., a 19-year-old Princeton University sophomore, was horsing around with friends near a train track in 1990 when they spotted a parked commuter train. They decided to climb over the train, and Miller was first up the ladder.

Criminal Justice

South Bend Tribune
11/22/2009
Can sex offenders be cured?

Winner 2009 Indiana Associated Press Managing Editors, Third Place, non-deadline news story.

Data Journalism

Medscape
Money, Patients, Romance: Physician Ethics 2020

Physician attitudes on important issues have changed since Medscape's first ethics survey in 2010. In 2020, 5000+ US physicians shared their perspectives about ethical issues they encounter.

Mdedge
02/15/2017
Malpractice 2017: Do we need reform?

Malpractice reforms long espoused by Thomas E. Price, MD, Health & Human Services secretary, are fostering debate on whether national fixes are necessary in an improving liability landscape. Claims against health providers have decreased twofold and doctors nationwide have seen their premiums decrease steadily for a decade.

Broadcast

Video Editing/Production

Profiles

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