STUDY OF THE CONSISTENCY OF NURSING CARE HOURS AND PATIENT LENGTH OF STAY PER DRG CATEGORY IN SELECTED JOINT COMMISSION ON ACCREDITATION OF HEALTH CARE ORGANIZATIONS AS MEASURED BY DIVERSE PATIENT CLASSIFICATION SYSTEMS.
Contributors: Columbia University. Teachers College.
Published: 1988
Number of pages: 205
Subjects: Health Sciences, Nursing.
Description: It was the purpose of this study to investigate if the mean number of nursing care hours (NCH) and the mean patient length of stays (LOS) per Diagnostic Related Group (DRG) category differed across six selected New Jersey teaching and non-teaching hospitals accredited by the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Health Care Organizations (JCAHO). Additionally, the relationship between NCHs and patient LOSs per DRG category within and across four selected New Jersey JCAHO accredited study hospitals was also examined.

Six diverse factor patient classification systems (PCS) were utilized to assess the number of NCHs per DRG category, while patient LOS data were obtained from the patient's medical records. Cases were limited to the body of all medical-surgical inlier patients during a one year period beginning April 1, 1985 and ending March 31, 1986.

This study yielded information relating to approximately one hundred and sixty DRG categories involving 29,696 cases. Forty-eight DRG categories that were common to all six study hospitals were identified for inter-institutional comparisons.

The results indicated that fifty percent of the mean NCHs per DRG category across hospitals demonstrated no statistically significant differences (p $<$.01).

Interestingly, sixty-four percent of the DRGs indicated no statistically significant differences (p $<$.001) and thirty-six percent demonstrated statistically significant differences beyond (p $<$.001).

Further results indicated that seventy-three percent of the mean patient LOSs per DRG category across hospitals demonstrated no statistically significant differences (p $<$.01).

Furthermore, eighty-three percent indicated no statistically significant differences (p $<$.001) and seventeen percent indicated statistically significant differences beyond (p $<$.001).

The results of one hundred and sixty-eight correlations between NCHs and patient LOS per DRG category within hospitals, indicated that a statistically significant relationship (p $<$.01) existed between NCHs and patient LOS in one hundred and sixty-six of the tests performed.

Further analysis demonstrated no statistically significant differences (p $<$.01) across the study hospitals in sixty percent of the DRGs. However, statistically significant differences (p $<$.01) resulted in forty percent of the DRGs studied across hospitals.
Notes: Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 49-09, Section: B, page: 3682.

Thesis (ED.D.)--COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY TEACHERS COLLEGE, 1988.

School code: 0055.