Low Nurse Staffing Increases Mortality of Hip-Fracture Patients

A study presented at the AAOS annual meeting found Medicare patients with a hip fracture are more likely to die when admitted to hospitals with lower nurse-staffing levels, according to a report by MedPage Today.

Advertisement

One fewer full-time equivalent RN per patient day increases the relative risk by 16 percent — a reasonably large increase, considering that in this study, adding five years to the patient’s age was associated with an absolute increase of 0.3 percent in in-hospital mortality.

While the nurse-staffing ratio has been linked to patient outcomes in other specialties, this is the first such study examining orthopedic surgery patients.

Read MedPage Today’s account of nurse-staffing ratios.

At the Becker’s 32nd Annual Meeting: The Business and Operations of ASCs, taking place October 29-31 in Chicago, ASC leaders, surgeons and healthcare executives will explore strategies to drive growth, enhance operational performance, navigate reimbursement challenges and prepare for the future of ambulatory surgery. Apply for complimentary registration now.

Advertisement

Next Up in Uncategorized

Advertisement

Comments are closed.