National Nurses United has announced a campaign that aims to highlight the dangers of using "unproven" medical technology,Healthcare IT News reports.

NNU was founded in 2009 and includes about 185,000 members representing every state (Monegain, Healthcare IT News, 5/27).

Details of Campaign

NNU argues that health care providers are spending billions of dollars on medical technology "sold to the public as the cure for everything from medical errors to cutting costs." However, the organization notes, "Bedside computers that diagnose and dictate treatment for patients based on generic population trends not the health status or care needs of that individual patient, increasingly supplant the professional assessment and judgment of experienced nurses and doctors exposing patients to misdiagnosis, mistreatment and life-threatening mistakes" (Slabodkin, Health Data Management, 5/22).

In addition, NNU says that electronic health record systems "too often fail, leaving doctors and nurses in the dark without access to medical histories or medical orders." 

The group adds, "Telemedicine and robotics marketed as improved care deprive patients of individualized care so essential to the therapeutic process central to healing" (Healthcare IT News, 5/27).  

Specifically, NNU criticizes hospitals for "spending their profits and patients' health care dollars on everything but quality patient care -- on technology, Wall Street investments, buying up other hospitals, while cutting the staff of bedside registered nurses" (Pedulli, Clinical Innovation & Technology, 5/23).

The campaign includes:

• A call to the public for action;
• Legislation;
• Radio advertisements;
• Rallies;
• Social media posts; and
• Video (Healthcare IT News, 5/27).