There are many ways to improve quality
and patient safety in hospitals (for example,
equipping hospitals with new technology, investing
in training and education, imposing
regulations, and increasing nurse staffing).
Whether there is a business case for any particular
option depends on many factors, and
each hospital will have to make its own assessment.
In instances where there is not a clear
business case for increased nurse staffing,
there might be a “social case”; thus, it would be
socially beneficial to have policy intervention.
In this study we provide data to help hospitals
and policymakers consider both the business
and social cases for investing in nurse
staffing by estimating the costs of increasing
staffing and cost savings resulting from
avoided deaths, reduced lengths-of-stay, and
decreased adverse patient outcomes associated
with higher nurse staffing levels.