Never 27 Law Watch

[Ronald Gross]

Ken,

I couldn't agree with you more (as usual).  

Along those lines, nursing staff are now being told how to talk to each other when giving report - the ISBAR system (introduction/situation/background/assessment/recommendations) has now been implemented at our hospital as the new standard, and I would imagine that there are going to be ISBAR Nazis policing nursing communications, sort of the Patriot Act of healthcare, except this Patriot Act will yield nothing but grief!  

I think it might be time for me to retire and go sell saddles.....

Ron

>>> <KMATTOX at aol.com> 2/28/2007 9:22 PM >>>
Heidi Hotz of Los Angeles has shared with us the attached California  
Statute.   It creates a list of 28 ADVERSE EVENTS occurring in a  hospital setting, 
which must be reported to the STATE HEALTH DEPARTMENT and then  a required on 
site (?Manditory) review and judgment evaluation by a regulatory  and 
reimbursement team.    
 
Regulatory harressment from the Regulatory Industrial Complex.    Society, 
patients, families, hospitals, and health workers will NOT be better  served by 
this bill for a long list of reasons.  However, consumerism in  health care is 
now with us, and we must accept that this is only one of many  such 
regulations to come.   
 
Such laws are being passed because we did not police ourselves internally,  
as did the airline industry.  We needed to have an attitude of ZERO  tolerance. 
  How many of our hospitals have patients who develop  nosocomial bed sores 
(not present on admission) ?   How many doses of  medication are given with the 
wrong drug, wrong dose, wrong time, wrong patient,  etc.    One only has to 
be a patient or have a family member that  is a patient to recognize that the 
system is BROKEN.  
 
However, it is not just lack of attention to detail by the doctors and  
nurses, it is our SYSTEM which is at fault, including the restrictive and  
demeaning regulations, paper work, work hour restrictions,  etc.     Nurses cannot be 
nurses anymore because they are  busy just keeping compliance records and 
assuring numbers for the regulators and  JCAHO.    Then there are laws about nurse 
patient ratios which  are impossible to fulfill because of the number of 
total nurses available and  the low number in the que.    
 
I am very saddened by this California Law and would hope that the  California 
Medical Association, California Hospital Association, California  Trial 
Lawyers Association, etc. could join together to repeal this  law.   It is not in 
the best interest of quality patient  care.     
 
But.........look for the name of your hospital and your name on the front  
page of the Los Angeles Times.   
 
Thank you ACLU for helping pass this law.  
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