Patient Acuity Systems

The Capstone team formulated two research questions to assess the extent to which the New York-Presbyterian Hospital (NYPH) was utilizing evidence-based nursing sensitive patient acuity measures to manage nurse staffing: what are the current NYPH practices and how would a patient acuity system (at no significant extra cost) improve staffing decisions and patient care at NYPH? The Capstone team identified the current practices on two similar medical-surgical units in the NYPH system. Through a series of interviews and an evidence-based literature review, the team identified criteria to evaluate relevant patient acuity systems in the marketplace. Based on the findings, the Capstone team recommended next steps for the NYPH system with regard to acuity-based staffing.