EMBARGOED UNTIL:
CONTACT:
Agency for Health Care Policy and Research Study Shows Fewer Nurses, Greater Patient RiskWashington, DC -- The American Nurses Association applauds the release of a new study by researchers at the U.S. Agency for Health Care Policy and Research (AHCPR) that found that patients who have surgery done in hospitals with fewer registered nurses per patient than other hospitals run a higher risk of developing avoidable complications following their operations. The study was published in the fourth quarter 1998 issue of the nursing journal, Image. “Studies like this demonstrate that it is critical to study the outcomes and effectiveness of changes in the organization and delivery of health care services,” said AHCPR Administrator John M. Eisenberg, M.D. According to Christine Kovner, PhD, RN, one of the study’s authors, “the finding of a strong inverse relationship between registered nurse staffing and adverse patient events should be considered when developing strategies to reduce costs.” Among the adverse patient events the study found associated with lower RN-to-patient staffing were increased urinary tract infections, pneumonia, thrombosis -- formation of blood clots -- pulmonary congestion, and other lung-related problems following major surgery. The AHCPR study reinforces a 1997 study commissioned by the American Nurses Association (ANA). The ANA-commissioned study, Implementing Nursing’s Report Card: A Study of RN Staffing, Length of Stay, and Patient Outcomes, was conducted by Network, Inc., an independent health care and hospital consulting research firm. Beverly Malone, PhD, RN, FAAN, President of the American Nurses Association, says, “The findings of the AHCPR study come as no surprise to the ANA or to nurses on the front lines who strive 24 hours a day to ensure that patients receive the safest, highest quality care they deserve. Cutting costs by cutting the number of nurses at the bedside is a false economy today. The illnesses cited by the AHCPR study are often avoidable and thus unnecessarily increase costs both for patients and for the entire health care system. Almost every patient admitted to the hospital is seriously ill. When patients already have serious or life-threatening illnesses, they don’t need additional serious complications on top of them. Nurses are patients’ first line of defense.” The ANA believes hospitals should disclose to the public data on their staffing mix of health care providers and on patient outcomes. Patient safety protection legislation which did not pass during the current session of Congress would have mandated such disclosure. ANA will continue to press for the passage of this key patient protection in the coming year. ANA advocates for federal legislation in another key area that impacts on patient safety -- the right of nurses to report potential patient safety risks without fear of retribution. Health care professional whistleblower protection legislation supported by ANA would accomplish this goal.
The American Nurses Association is the only full-service professional organization representing the nation’s 2.6 million Registered Nurses through its 53 constituent associations. ANA advances the nursing profession by fostering high standards of nursing practice, promoting the economic and general welfare of nurses in the workplace, projecting a positive and realistic view of nursing, and by lobbying the Congress and regulatory agencies on health care issues affecting nurses and the public.
|
