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Purpose: To develop a web-based solution for patient need-driven staffing (PNDS) that automatically determines nurses' staffing requirements. Methods: Activities provided by nurses in four integrated nursing care wards (INCWs) and non-INCWs each in a tertiary hospital were observed over three days. Nursing hours per patient hour (NHPPH) were calculated by dividing nursing hours by patient stay hours per day. Patient needs were evaluated using 19 items. Results: The nurse-patient ratios in INCWs and non-INCWs were 1:4.5 and 1:8.1 (including overtime), respectively. Admitted and transferred-in patients had higher NHPPHs than those with continuing stays. The patients were classified into five groups: Group A for admissions and transfers-in, and Groups 1-4 for the remainder. In INCWs, the nurse-patient ratios ranged from 1:5.3 (Group 1) to 1:2.4 (Group 4), and Group A required 1:3.0, the secondhighest level. In non-INCWs, ratios ranged from 1:9.4 (Group 1) to 1:5.2 (Group 4 and Group A). The PNDS solution was developed to determine staffing requirements by classifying patients into five groups using the entered data on patient needs, assigning the group's NHPPH to each patient, and calculating the staffing ratio required in the unit. Conclusion: The PNDS is expected to support staffing decisions to meet patient needs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: To develop a web-based solution for patient need-driven staffing (PNDS) that automatically determines nurses' staffing requirements. Methods: Activities provided by nurses in four integrated nursing care wards (INCWs) and non-INCWs each in a tertiary hospital were observed over three days. Nursing hours per patient hour (NHPPH) were calculated by dividing nursing hours by patient stay hours per day. Patient needs were evaluated using 19 items. Results: The nurse-patient ratios in INCWs and non-INCWs were 1:4.5 and 1:8.1 (including overtime), respectively. Admitted and transferred-in patients had higher NHPPHs than those with continuing stays. The patients were classified into five groups: Group A for admissions and transfers-in, and Groups 1~4 for the remainder. In INCWs, the nurse-patient ratios ranged from 1:5.3 (Group 1) to 1:2.4 (Group 4), and Group A required 1:3.0, the secondhighest level. In non-INCWs, ratios ranged from 1:9.4 (Group 1) to 1:5.2 (Group 4 and Group A). The PNDS solution was developed to determine staffing requirements by classifying patients into five groups using the entered data on patient needs, assigning the group's NHPPH to each patient, and calculating the staffing ratio required in the unit. Conclusion: The PNDS is expected to support staffing decisions to meet patient needs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: This study was done to evaluate the adequacy of nurse staffing in integrated nursing care. Methods: Statistical data on integrated nursing care from the National Health Insurance Corporation was used in this study. We extracted hospital data and patient data related to patient needs for nursing care. We analyzed the differences in patient needs by staffing level of each type of medical institution. Results: Approximately 70% of medical institutions provided nursing care by the mid level of nurse staffing, which was 1:6, 1:10 and 1:12 in the tertiary hospital, general hospital and semi-hospital, respectively. The patients' characteristics were significantly different by hospital type. Especially, the distribution of the main diagnosis was completely different between the tertiary hospital and semi-hospital. In the tertiary hospital, the patient needs measured by severity and activities of daily living dependency were higher at higher staffing level than at lower staffing level. However, the nurse staffing was less relevant to the patient needs in the general hospital and semi-hospital. Conclusion: To provide high-quality nursing care, accurate workload forecasting is required at the start, and then the standard nurse staffing level can established based on workload forecasting. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]