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Information at your fingertips - Health Policy Issues - web sites on medical law and public health

AORN Journal, May, 2003 by Frederick P. Franko

With the explosive growth of the Internet, information is available more readily than ever. The number of web sites on the Internet, however, can be overwhelming for the casual user. The task of searching for information can be daunting and time consuming. This article offers suggestions about where to find information on state and federal legislation, state boards of nursing, state boards of medicine, and other important sources pertinent to nursing. AORN members should become familiar with the information that is available and how to access it.

Table 1 provides a list of the web sites discussed in this article, as well as other web sites helpful to perioperative RNs. Save these sites on your computer to allow quick and easy access.

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FEDERAL GOVERNMENT

There are a number of ways to stay abreast of developments in federal legislation. Each year, AORN's Government Affairs Department tracks the progress of several federal bills. These include legislation that AORN supports, opposes, or simply monitors. Last year, AORN supported two pieces of federal legislation: the Nurse Reinvestment Act, which was signed into law on Aug 1, 2002, and the Medicare Certified Registered Nurse First Assistant Direct Reimbursement Act of 2001 (ie, HR 822). The Medicare Certified Registered Nurse First Assistant Direct Reimbursement Act of 2003 (ie, HR 1388) was introduced in the 108th Congress by Rep Mac Collins (R-Ga) on March 21, 2003. To stay abreast of legislation that AORN is tracking, visit the government affairs web page on the members-only section of AORN Online at http://www.aorn.org/govt/legdb.asp.

For up-to-date information on all federal legislation visit Thomas, http://thomas.loc.gov, a service of the US Library of Congress. In addition to current legislative information, Thomas provides access to bill summaries and the status of previous legislation and public laws beginning with the 93rd Congress (ie, 1973 and 1974). Bill text is available beginning with the 101st Congress (ie, 1989 and 1990).

Nurses looking for information on bioterrorism, homeland security, or smallpox will find the US Department of Health and Human Service's web site, http://www.hhs.gov.contains abundant resources. Nurses responsible for infection control or disaster preparedness may be interested in having quick access to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention via its web site at http://www.cdc.gov.

NATIONAL ORGANIZATIONS

Nurses involved in the health care facility accreditation process will find that plenty of information is available. All major accrediting organizations, (eg, the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations, http://www.jcaho.org) have web sites that contain valuable resources. AORN, the American Nurses Association, and other specialty nurses associations and health care professional organizations also maintain web sites.

STATE GOVERNMENT

AORN's Government Affairs Department monitors state legislation pertaining to perioperative nursing and posts and updates information on AORN Online. Every year, AORN tracks 50 to 100 state bills from across the United States. State legislation monitored by AORN is available at http://www.aorn.org/govt/legdb.asp.

Members who find interesting or relevant bills on the AORN web site can look them up on their state's legislative web site (Table 2) to check their current status (ie, where the bill is in the legislative process). A state legislative web site will offer additional information, including a bill's text and sponsors and what committee the bill is before. In addition, the site will provide information on the state's legislators and how to contact them, a list of committees, and legislative schedules. Most, if not all, state web sites describe the legislative process in some detail. For example, Tennessee's web site provides both written information and a diagram explaining how a bill becomes a law. (1)

For those who do not know who their federal or state legislators are, there is an easy way to find out. Project Vote Smart is an independent, citizens' nonprofit organization "dedicated to serving all Americans with accurate and unbiased information for electoral decision-making." (2) Simply entering a home address into the Project Vote Smart database will result in a list of federal and state elected officials for that address. The Project Vote Smart web site is http://www.vote-smart.org.

In addition to legislative web sites, every state has multiple web sites dedicated to providing services and information to the public. Some of the most valuable sites for RNs are those dedicated to the profession. The National Council of State Boards of Nursing maintains contact information and web site addresses for each of the state boards of nursing on their web site at http://www.ncsbn.org/public/regulation/boards_of_nursing_board.htm. State boards of nursing or their equivalents establish the standards for safe nursing care and issue licenses to practice nursing. (3)

Health Care Industry

Information at your fingertips - Health Policy Issues - web sites on medical law and public health

AORN Journal, May, 2003 by Frederick P. Franko

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