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TOC 2/14/07 4:16 PM Page 2 Registered Nurse LETTER FROM THE PRESIDENT are you having trouble keeping track of the whirlwind of healthcare reform proposals spinning out of every state, every presidential hopeful, every labor-corporate coalition? Let me help you out with a shortcut for thinking about things. As we've described before, there are only two kinds of proposals out there. Those based on believing that we can rely on the insurance industry market to provide the coverage Americans need, and those based on a universal, single-payer public system. Almost all of the plans out there are the first kind, depending on insurance companies to take care of us and perhaps just tightening the rules on them a little bit. Only HR 676, which Reps. John Conyers and Dennis Kucinich reintroduced in January with CNA/NNOC in full support, provides a straight shot to the universal, single-payer system. In California, Sen. Sheila Kuehl is also reintroducing a similar bill for the state. Though single-payer or a national healthcare system is standard in all Western industrialized countries except ours, I know that some of us still have to be convinced. We have a few stories in this issue that we hope will help persuade you. One of our board members, Robert Marth, RN describes what caused him to rethink his opposition to single-payer systems and why he supports it now. And another board member, David Welch, RN recounts a recent experience he had trying to buy health insurance on the open market. Also in this issue is a story about some of the new health REGISTERED NURSE,™ (ISSN 1932-8966) The Journal of Patient Advocacy, January/February 2007 Volume 103/1 is published by the California Nurses Association/National Nurses Organizing Committee, 2000 Franklin Street, Oakland, CA 94612-2908. It provides news of organizational activities and reports on developments of concern to all registered nurses across the nation. It also carries general coverage and commentary on matters of nursing practice, community and public health, and healthcare policy. It is published monthly except for combined issues for July and August, and January and February. Periodicals postage paid at Oakland, California. POSTMASTER: send address changes to Registered Nurse, 2000 ™ Franklin Street, Oakland, CA 94612-2908. To send a media release or announcement, fax (510) 6630629. Registered Nurse™ is carried on the CNA/NNOC website at www.calnurses.org. information technology that is sweeping hospitals across the country. The tech companies, hospital executives, and most news reports are so ra-ra on these systems that the downside of these changes are never closely examined. We focus in on problems the RNs at one hospital, Dominican in Santa Cruz, Calif., have been struggling with since converting in 2006 to computerized charting and electronic medication administration. It's a story that's instructive for all of us as we figure out how to best deal with this trend. We're all seeing the introduction of these kind of systems, whether it's drug bar code scanning or paperless charting. This spring promises to be a busy one for us nurses as we continue to advocate for patients during this perhaps once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for true healthcare reform. Please join us and find out how to help by going to www.singlepayer.com. Deborah Burger, RN CNA/NNOC president For permission to reprint articles, write to Editorial Office. To subscribe, send $40 ($45 foreign) to Subscription Department. California Nurses Association/National Nurses Organizing Committee also produces California Nurse, which it ™ will continue to publish periodically. PLEASE CONTACT US WITH YOUR STORY IDEAS They can be about practice or management trends you've observed, or simply something new you've encountered in the profession. They can be about one nurse, unit, or hospital, or about the wider landscape of healthcare policy from an RN's perspective. They can humorous, or a matter of life and death. If you're a writer and would like to contribute an article, please let us know. Our contact information is in the masthead. executive editor Rose Ann DeMoro editor Lucia Hwang graphic design Jonathan Wieder communications director Charles Idelson contributors Hedy Dumpel, RN, JD photography Jaclyn Higgs, Tad Keyes editorial intern Bonnie Ho