Until then, the data being collected on quality patient care was primarily generated by third party payors. The results of this initiative by ANA were the identification of Nursing-Sensitive Quality Indicators for acute care settings. Staff Mix Total Nursing Care Hours Provided per Patient Day Pressure Ulcers Patient Falls Patient Satisfaction Nosocomial Infections Nurse Satisfaction. The outcomes of patient care are being scrutinized more and more carefully by payors, providers and the public. The restructuring and redesign of nursing care delivery systems must include scientific data for effective decision making.
Outcome data are essential for comparisons known as benchmarking.
After the indicators were identified, it was necessary to discover if this data could be collected in acute care settings. Funds from both the ANA and VNA were used to support the project. Phase I focused on the collection of quantitative and qualitative data in a rural area of Virginia. The purpose of this phase was to determine if it was feasible to collect the data on the quality indicators. The answers to these questions were yes, it is available and retrievable and most often already being collected by the acute care facilities for other purposes.