J. Shamian et al., THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN LENGTH OF STAY AND REQUIRED NURSING-CARE HOURS, The Journal of nursing administration, 24(7-8), 1994, pp. 52-58
The average length of stay (LOS) of patients in hospitals has declined
rapidly since the introduction of the prospective payment system. It
has been argued by nurses that reduced LOS is associated with increase
d nursing resource consumption, but there has been little empirical ev
idence to support the argument. The authors offer evidence of a relati
onship between LOS and hours per patient day in eleven clinical specia
lty areas. These findings have major implications for budgeting and th
e delivery of nursing care services.