Opinion: How STAT decided to keep ‘health care’ as two words

The medical journalism world was rocked recently when the mavens behind the Associated Press Stylebook announced a seismic change: It was embracing “healthcare” as one word, after decades of styling it as two.

When the change was debuted at ACES, a conference of editors, “people cheered, there was a commotion. It seemed like it was really warmly received,” Sarah Mupo, STAT’s director of editorial operations and keeper of the STAT style guide, told me on this episode of the “First Opinion Podcast.”

“My immediate response was: What’s STAT going to do? We generally follow AP … but ‘health care’ is such a big word for STAT. It’s a cornerstone of our coverage,” Sarah said.

On this episode of the “First Opinion Podcast,” my beloved colleague and I talk about how she approached making the big decision — and why a single space can carry such meeting.

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