THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN LENGTH OF STAY AND REQUIRED NURSING-CARE HOURS

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.