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HEALTH CARE

Big Med  Blog note:  This long piece published in the New Yorker, is written by the same author who uncovered the discrepancies in health cre spending, most notably in McAllen, TX.  It is a provocative article about corporatization of health care that will be a source of heated discussion.  Weigh in yourself,  using the comments section below.

Hospital Chain Inquiry Cited Unnecessary Cardiac Work  Blog note: another point about health care corporitization.  And it was a nurse who blew the whistle.

In British Emergency Room, “There’s No Card to Show; There are No Bills”   Take the American tourist.
… Read more about: MNA Daily NewsScan, August 7, 2012: How is that corporate health care working for you?  »

Stories we’re scanning:

NOTES ON NURSING

Nurses’ Rx for Healing – A Robin Hood Tax   Nurses are on the streets throughout the world today to demand a small Robin Hood tax on Wall Street transactions.  In Guatamala, Manhattan, El Paso, Minneapolis and numerous sites around the globe, thousands of nurses who see too much suffering as Wall Street bankers get paid six-figure bonuses are calling for a new public health measure – economic justice.  Read why nurses are at the forefront of this movement. 

California Court Says Unsupervised Nurses Can Administer Anesthesia   The order will have its greatest impact in rural areas, where nurses commonly  administer anesthesia in hospitals, under a doctor’s orders but without  in-person supervision.
… Read more about: MNA Daily NewsScan, June 19, 2012: Robin Hood Tax Day; underemployed & underpaid  »

Stories we’re scanning:

HEALTH CARE

Health Care Costs Causing More Americans to Go Without Needed Care  Health care costs are weighing on Americans’ minds — and sapping their budgets, according to a new survey that shows that within the last year, more than half of people needing medical care didn’t get it because of the expense.

U.S. Lags In Bettering Value of Health Care   While the U.S. health system has the highest per capita cost of the 12 nations studied — spending 17.6% of its gross domestic product on healthcare — it ranked at the bottom in terms of readiness to implement a value-based care system.
… Read more about: MNA Daily NewsScan, June 12, 2012: American exceptionalism? Not when it comes to HC; Sutter RNs strike update  »

NOTES ON NURSING

Can Patient Photos Help Reduce Error?  Putting children’s photos in their electronic hospital charts could help reduce one type of medical error, a study published Monday suggests.

HEALTH CARE

DeMoro:  Maybe We Can Get It Right   If President Obama is now confiding to Democratic donors that he may have to “revisit” health care in a second term if the Supreme Court throws out his first attempt, as Bloomberg News reported June 1, maybe this time we can get it right.

Hospitals Add Palliative Care Programs at a Feverish Pace   The field has expanded so rapidly that a majority of American hospitals now have palliative programs, to the delight of patients who say they’ve finally found relief and a sympathetic ear.
… Read more about: MNA Daily NewsScan, June 5, 2012: Another chance to get health care right? Labor woes at Belmont  »

NURSES

Note:  Senate Media is live streaming this event.  Here’s the link if you have Windows

MNA we will post our own video later today.  Meanwhile, follow us at on Twitter. 

Watch  as MNA RN Jean Ross gives dramatic testimony to Sen. Al Franken about debt collectors in ER – NurseTV.org   Related:  Sen. Franken questions Accretive Health execs today over allegations of aggressive debt collection practices. strib.mn/KW2dB9

Night Shift May Boost Women’s Breast Cancer Risk    “About 10 to 20 percent of women in modern societies have night shift work,” said lead researcher Johnni Hansen.
… Read more about: MNA NewsScan, May 30, 2012: Video of Franken Hearing on Debt Collection; Fake Innovation Wastes HC $$  »

Attention MNA Nurses

Hospitals are making record profits despite the economic downturn. One alarming tactic that’s becoming more common is hospital debt collectors posing as health care staff to get payment from patients, sometimes before they’ve ever been treated. You may have seen recent news coverage about Attorney General Lori Swanson’s investigation of Accretive Health, the debt collectors that have been used by both Fairview and North Memorial. This practice raises ethical and legal questions about patient care and privacy.

Now U.S. Sen. Al Franken (D-Minn.) will chair a U.S. Senate field hearing at the Minnesota State Capitol to examine if current federal laws effectively protect patients’ access to care and privacy. 
… Read more about: Sen. Franken To Hold Hearing Related to Debt Collection Tactics  »