Los Angeles, London, New Delhi, Singapore, and Washington, DC – (August 21, 2008) It costs money to improve the quality of nursing care through work environment changes or increases in staffing but those costs may be offset through improved nursing satisfaction and patient outcomes, according to research in a Special Issue of Policy, Politics & Nursing Practice published by SAGE.
The guest editorial, "The Importance and Challenge of Paying for Quality Nursing Care," introduces the articles that explore the economic issues and policies for quality nursing care. The articles are grouped around three general topics: (a) making the business case for quality nursing care, (b) reimbursing for nursing care, and (c) paying for performance related to nursing care. Articles include:
- Economics of Nursing
- Is What's Good for the Patient Good for the Hospital?
- The Business Case for Nursing in Long-Term Care
- Adjusting for Nursing Care Case Mix in Hospital Reimbursement
- Testing an Inpatient Nursing Intensity Billing Model
- Measuring and Accounting for the Intensity of Nursing Care
- Paying Hospitals on the Basis of Nursing Intensity
- Lessons Learned From Advanced Practice Nursing Payment
- Challenges and Directions for Nursing in the Pay-for-Performance Movement
"Historically, the economic value that nursing brings to the patient care process has not been recognized or quantified," write guest editors Lynn Y. Unruh, PhD, RN, LHRM (University of Central Florida), Susan B. Hassmiller, PhD, RN, FAAN, (Robert Wood Johnson Foundation), and Susan C. Reinhard, PhD, RN, FAAN, (AARP Public Policy Institute). "Improving the quality of nursing care through work environment changes or increases in staffing is viewed by many as an added cost, but the benefits in terms of money saved through improved nursing satisfaction and patient outcomes are not considered."
Source: SAGE Publications