Emerging Nurse Billing and Reimbursement Models.

Objectives: To explore and make recommendations to implement direct billing and reimbursement models for nursing care in the United States.

Background: Nurses make up the largest group of healthcare professionals and within hospitals, nurses represent approximately a quarter of all resources and associated costs of patient care. This care is mostly hidden in daily room and board charges.

Using Time-Referenced Data to Assess Medication Administration Performance and Quality.

Objective: This study tests the feasibility of using a large (big) clinical data set to test the ability to extract time-referenced data related to medication administration to identify late doses and as-needed (PRN) administration patterns by RNs in an inpatient setting.

Methods: The study is a secondary analysis of a set of data using bar-code medication administration time stamps (n = 3043812) for 50883 patients admitted to a single, urban, 525-bed hospital in 11 inpatient units by 714 nurses between April 1, 2013, and March 31, 2015.

Results: The large majority of scheduled medications (43.

Evidence based practice readiness: A concept analysis.

Aim: To analyse and define the concept "evidence based practice readiness" in nurses.

Background: Evidence based practice readiness is a term commonly used in health literature, but without a clear understanding of what readiness means. Concept analysis is needed to define the meaning of evidence based practice readiness.

Nurses and the Ethics of Big Data.

As we move toward a value-based health care system and payment models based on individual performance of providers, nurses are faced with a dilemma. Should we as a profession actively pursue the development of individual nurse performance metrics, analysis, benchmarks, and practice standards, similar to those being implemented for physicians? Or should we wait until these metrics are imposed by payers and policymakers with little or no input from nurses?

Measuring Nursing Value from the Electronic Health Record.

We report the findings of a big data nursing value expert group made up of 14 members of the nursing informatics, leadership, academic and research communities within the United States tasked with 1. Defining nursing value, 2. Developing a common data model and metrics for nursing care value, and 3.

Measuring Nursing Care Value.

The value of nursing care as well as the contribution of individual nurses to clinical outcomes has been difficult to measure and evaluate. Existing health care financial models hide the contribution of nurses; therefore, the link between the cost and quality o nursing care is unknown. New data and methods are needed to articulate the added value of nurses to patient care.

Diagnostic Imaging Services in Magnet and Non-Magnet Hospitals: Trends in Utilization and Costs.

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to better understand trends in utilization and costs of diagnostic imaging services at Magnet hospitals (MHs) and non-Magnet hospitals (NMHs).

Methods: A data set was created by merging hospital-level data from the American Hospital Association's annual survey and Medicare cost reports, individual-level inpatient data from the Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project, and Magnet recognition status data from the American Nurses Credentialing Center. A descriptive analysis was conducted to evaluate the trends in utilization and costs of CT, MRI, and ultrasound procedures among MHs and NMHs in urban locations between 2000 and 2006 from the following ten states: Arizona, California, Colorado, Florida, Iowa, Maryland, North Carolina, New Jersey, New York, and Washington.

Hospital Nursing Workforce Costs, Wages, Occupational Mix,and Resource Utilization.

Background: The objective of the study was to better understand how hospitals use different types of RNs, LPNs, and nurse aides in proprietary (for-profit), nonprofit, and government-owned hospitals and to estimate the wages, cost, and intensity of nursing care using a national data set.

Method: This is a cross-sectional observational study of 3,129 acute care hospitals in all 50 states and District of Columbia using data from the 2008 Occupational Mix Survey administered by the Centers for Medicare &Medicaid Services (CMS). Nursing skill mix, hours, and labor costs were combined with other CMS hospital descriptive data, including type of hospital ownership, urban or rural location, hospital beds, and case-mix index.

Risk-Adjusted Staffing to Improve Patient Value.

The presence of hospital-acquired conditions, infections, or other adverse events are a reflection of inadequate patient safety and can have short and long-term impacts of quality of life for patients as well as financial implications for the hospital. Using unit-level information to develop a tool, the Patient Risk Assessment Profile, nurses on an inpatient surgical unit proactively assessed patient risk to guide staffing decisions and nurse-patient assignment with the goal to improve patient value, reduce adverse events, and avoid unnecessary hospital costs. Findings showed decreased adverse event rates for patient falls, catheter-acquired urinary tract infection, central line-acquired blood stream infection, and pressure ulcer prevalence after the intervention was implemented.

Nursing Care Value-Based Financial Models.

Nursing care makes up one of the largest expenditures in the health care system, yet patient-level nursing intensity and costs are essentially unknown. Prior efforts to define nursing care value have been stymied by a lack of available data; however, emerging information from electronic health records provide an opportunity to measure nursing care in ways that have not been possible. New metrics using these data will allow improved measurement of cost, quality, and intensity at the level of each nurse and patient across many different settings which can be used to inform operational and clinical decision making.

Effects of P6 stimulation on postoperative nausea and vomiting in laparoscopic cholecystectomy patients.

Purpose: Postoperative nausea and vomiting (PONV) remains one of the most common postsurgical complications after anesthesia and surgery. Pericardium 6 (P6) stimulation is believed to prevent PONV and is a potential adjunctive treatment with pharmacologic agents. The purpose of this study was to compare the effects of P6 stimulation on PONV occurrence to a control group not receiving the P6 stimulation in sequential female patients undergoing laparoscopic cholecystecomy at a community hospital in central Florida between November 2010 and March 2013.

Is there a business case for magnet hospitals? Estimates of the cost and revenue implications of becoming a magnet.

Background: Although Magnet hospitals (MHs) are known for their better nursing care environments, little is known about whether MHs achieve this at a higher (lower) cost of health care or whether a superior nursing environment yields higher net patient revenue versus non-MHs over an extended period of time.

Objective: To examine how achieving Magnet status is related to subsequent inpatient costs and revenues controlling for other hospital characteristics.

Data And Methods: Data from the American Hospital Association Annual Survey, Hospital Cost Reporting Information System reports collected by Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, and Magnet status of hospitals from American Nurses Credentialing Center from 1998 to 2006 were combined and used for the analysis.

Adoption of national quality forum safe practices by Magnet® hospitals.

Background: Magnet® hospitals (MHs) are known for their high retention rates of nurses and positive work environment, yet little is known about whether MHs also have higher levels of safe practice adoption rates compared with non-Magnet hospitals (NMHs).

Methods: In this study, we investigate adoption of National Quality Forum (NQF) Safe Practices in 34 regions during 2004 to 2006 that were part of the Leapfrog Group initiative to improve quality of hospital care. We conducted a secondary data analysis by combining multiple data sets from the American Hospital Association Annual Survey,Healthcare Cost Reports Information System, and Leapfrog Group Annual Hospital Survey.

Adoption of national quality forum safe practices by Magnet® hospitals.

Background: : Magnet hospitals (MHs) are known for their high retention rates of nurses and positive work environment, yet little is known about whether MHs also have higher levels of safe practice adoption rates compared with non-Magnet hospitals (NMHs).

Methods: : In this study, we investigate adoption of National Quality Forum (NQF) Safe Practices in 34 regions during 2004 to 2006 that were part of the Leapfrog Group initiative to improve quality of hospital care. We conducted a secondary data analysis by combining multiple data sets from the American Hospital Association Annual Survey, Healthcare Cost Reports Information System, and Leapfrog Group Annual Hospital Survey.

Hospital nursing workforce costs, wages, occupational mix, and resource utilization.

Background: : The objective of the study was to better understand how hospitals use different types of RNs, LPNs, and nurse aides in proprietary (for-profit), nonprofit, and government-owned hospitals and to estimate the wages, cost, and intensity of nursing care using a national data set.

Method: : This is a cross-sectional observational study of 3,129 acute care hospitals in all 50 states and District of Columbia using data from the 2008 Occupational Mix Survey administered by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS). Nursing skill mix, hours, and labor costs were combined with other CMS hospital descriptive data, including type of hospital ownership, urban or rural location, hospital beds, and case-mix index.

Should LPNs be educated in hospitals?

Dr Welton's essay on the use of hospital clinical sites for the education of licensed practical nurse students is followed by Dr Hill's commentary.