Minimum nurse-to-patient ratios in acute care hospitals in California
Minimum nurse-to-patient ratios in acute care hospitals in California
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DOI：
10.1377/hlthaff.21.5.53
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发表时间：
2002-09-01
期刊：
影响因子：
9.7
通讯作者：
Spetz, J
中科院分区：
文献类型：
--
作者：
Coffman, JM;Seago, JA;Spetz, J
许多注册护士认为，急症护理医院的护士人手不足。1999年，加州成为第一个规定医院护士与病人比例最低的州。国家官员于2002年1月公布了比率草案，预计将于2003年7月实施立法。我们估计，合规的直接成本将很小。然而，强制性比率可能产生不易衡量的机会成本，而且可能超过其收益。其他地方的政策制定者应该考虑其他策略来解决护士的关切，因为其他方法可能成本更低，对护士和患者产生更大的好处。
Many registered nurses believe that nurse staffing in acute care hospitals is inadequate. In 1999 California became the first state to mandate minimum nurse-to-patient ratios in hospitals. State officials announced draft ratios in January 2002 and expect to implement the legislation by July 2003. We estimate that the direct costs of compliance will be small. However, mandatory ratios could generate opportunity costs that are not easily measured and that may outweigh their benefits. Policymakers elsewhere should consider other strategies to address nurses' concerns, because other approaches may be less costly and produce greater benefits to nurses and patients.