I recently read an article on a study from The Journal of the American Medical Association concluding that hospitals make more money by administering poor care. This shocked me.  The study analyzed the per incidence contribution margin relative to cases in which patients suffered from surgical errors. As a result of these complications, patients needed additional treatment and additional time in the hospital. Rather than draining hospital resources, the study indicated that hospitals actually … [Read more...]

As health care continues to progress, more and more new technologies are adopted in the hopes of improving the industry. However, not everyone benefits from technological changes. One topical technological addition to the healthcare industry is the use of tele-ICUs, a branch of telemedicine defined by the American Association of Critical Care Nurses as, “networks of audiovisual communication and computer systems that link critical care physicians…and nurses to intensive care units (ICUs) in … [Read more...]

Recently a petition appearing on the website change.org was directed to members of the American Nurses Association (ANA).  Titled “ANA: No More Staffing Committees, We Want a National Nurse-to-Patient Ratio Law,” it called for action and urged readers to neither join nor renew membership to the Association. The blaming of the ANA here for the short-staffing issue does not help in addressing this crucial topic. The ANA was behind the recent “Safe Staffing Act” in Congress, but the bill … [Read more...]

Finally the VA is promoting nursing with their initiative to expand the role of Advanced Practice Registered Nurses to be fully independent.  This will help reduce the extensive wait times that have restricted, and all too often precluded health care for our nation’s veterans. Understandably, the public is fearful that allowing APRNs to fill the role usually reserved by physicians would reduce the quality of care administered to veterans, or worse, put veterans at risk by placing their health … [Read more...]