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Lower surgical mortality in hospitals with best nursing care, novel study shows

Magnet hospitals offer sickest patients best outcomes

Date:
January 20, 2016
Source:
University of Pennsylvania School of Nursing
Summary:
Patients are often unaware that choosing the right hospital is very important to having a good outcome. A novel study showed that patients undergoing surgery at Magnet hospitals recognized for nursing excellence, and good nurse staffing, have better outcomes at the same or lower costs as other hospitals.
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Patients are often unaware that choosing the right hospital is very important to having a good outcome. A novel study published in the prominent surgery journal JAMA Surgery showed that patients undergoing surgery at Magnet hospitals recognized for nursing excellence, and good nurse staffing, have better outcomes at the same or lower costs as other hospitals.

"We found that patients treated in hospitals with better nursing had significantly lower death rates after surgery," said lead author Jeffrey H. Silber, MD, PhD, Director of the Center for Outcomes Research at The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia and Senior Fellow at the Leonard Davis Institute of Health Economics at the University of Pennsylvania. The outcomes advantage for patients in Magnet hospitals was greater for all patients but especially for sicker and more complicated patients.

"Magnet designation for nursing excellence offers a way for patients to easily identify hospitals where they are more likely to have good outcomes following surgery," said study co-author Matthew McHugh, PhD, JD, MPH, RN, Associate Director, Center for Health Outcomes and Policy Research at the University of Pennsylvania School of Nursing.

The authors used a novel approach to compare 25,076 matched pairs of Medicare patients having surgery in 328 hospitals. Pairs of patients had the exact same surgical procedure and were very similar in terms of age, sex, severity of illness, demographics, and chronic illnesses.

"A surprising finding was that better nurse staffing throughout the hospital does not have to be more costly. Indeed, we found that Magnet hospitals achieved lower mortality at the same or lower costs by admitting 40 percent fewer patients to intensive care units and shortening length of hospital stay," said Linda Aiken, PhD, RN, Director of the Center for Health Outcomes and Policy Research at the University of Pennsylvania School of Nursing.


Story Source:

Materials provided by University of Pennsylvania School of Nursing. Note: Content may be edited for style and length.


Journal Reference:

  1. Jeffrey H. Silber, MD, PhD; Paul R. Rosenbaum, PhD; Matthew D. McHugh, PhD, JD, RN, MPH; Justin M. Ludwig, MA; Herbert L. Smith, PhD; Bijan A. Niknam, BS; Orit Even-Shoshan, MS; Lee A. Fleisher, MD; Rachel R. Kelz, MD, MSCE; Linda H. Aiken, PhD, RN. Comparison of the Value of Nursing Work Environments in Hospitals Across Different Levels of Patient Risk. JAMA Surgery, January 2016 DOI: 10.1001/jamasurg.2015.4908

Cite This Page:

University of Pennsylvania School of Nursing. "Lower surgical mortality in hospitals with best nursing care, novel study shows." ScienceDaily. ScienceDaily, 20 January 2016. <www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2016/01/160120115608.htm>.
University of Pennsylvania School of Nursing. (2016, January 20). Lower surgical mortality in hospitals with best nursing care, novel study shows. ScienceDaily. Retrieved March 28, 2024 from www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2016/01/160120115608.htm
University of Pennsylvania School of Nursing. "Lower surgical mortality in hospitals with best nursing care, novel study shows." ScienceDaily. www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2016/01/160120115608.htm (accessed March 28, 2024).

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