Cross your fingers, New Jersey advanced practice nurses (APNs), because if Senator Joseph Vitale (D-Middlesex) succeeds in passing his recently introduced S-2354 — the “Consumer Access to Health Care Act,” — you will be able to prescribe medications without joint protocol with a consulting physician. Introduced Nov. 29 into the New Jersey State ...

Those of you who’ve had long careers in acute care were probably the only members of the reading public who weren’t surprised by the Chicago Tribune’s report that 85 percent of hospital complaints were ignored by the state of Illinois last year. Grievances ranged from dirty needles, medication errors, sexual assault, and patient neglect. ...