NOTES ON NURSING

Expert Affirms Nurses’s Warnings About Electronic Health Records System   At a meeting of the Marin Healthcare District board on May 14, a group of Marin General nurses told the board problems with the new computer system were diverting them from their patients and causing errors, such as sending orders to the wrong patients. One nurse reported that a patient had received a medication to which he was allergic.

Worst Times to be Admitted for Heart Attack.  Hint: Involves Nurse Staffing   It’s possible that staffing issues at hospitals during these times are part of the problem; patients who come into the hospitals just before the weekend and late at night may see fewer nursing staff members and this could contribute to less attention that may impact care.

LABOR UPDATES

High-End Health Plans Scale Back to Avoid “Cadillac Tax”   Companies hoping to avoid the tax are beginning to scale back the more generous health benefits they have traditionally offered and to look harder for ways to bring down the overall cost of care.

WalMart Workers Launch First-Ever “Prolonged Strikes”  Organizers expect retail employees in more cities to join the work stoppage, which follows the country’s first-ever coordinated Walmart store strikes last October, and a high-profile Black Friday walkout November 23.

In Thief River Falls, Plenty of Demand for Workers But No Room for Them   Two big employers have made the city an oasis of job growth. Now housing and schools are trying to catch up.

HEALTH CARE

Krugman:  The Obamacare Shock   Yes, it does look as if there’s an Obamacare shock coming: the shock of learning that a public program designed to help a lot of people can, strange to say, end up helping a lot of people — especially when government officials actually try to make it work.