The quality of patient care is being undermined. Of course, the public s stake in healthcare delivery is of a different order than access to the Internet. Here it is a matter of life or death. It involves the safety and security of women, women and children who are entitled to better treatment. But what happened when AOL proved unable to provide the access it promised is relevant and instructive here.
Public opinion counts.
Just as aroused customers can act to reverse a bad situation on the Net, so too patients can affect the access to the healthcare to which they are entitled. Nurses have for some time been on the frontline of the battle to preserve safe, quality healthcare delivery. But the cause belongs not to them. It can and should be taken up by everyone. Just as the public has successfully compelled America Online to live up to its promise of access to quality service, nurses, patients and their communities can compel Kaiser to change its course and adopt policies toward it employees and the public that will guarentee reliable, quality patient care.