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January 4, 2007
NP Quality Outcome Studies Resource
Have you visited the ACNP Effectiveness Outcome Studies and Articles section of the ACNP website? This free resource provides more than thirty articles and citations on the effectiveness of nurse practitioner care. Sections include information on NP versus Physician outcome studies, acute care, geriatric, pediatric, and primary care. Check out this section in the Research area of the website http://www.acnpweb.org/i4a/pages/index.cfm?pageid=3300
Use these excellent resources for anyone wondering about the quality & effectiveness of NPs.
Longitudinal Study of NP Prescribing - 2004
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Care by Advanced Practice Nurses Can Lower Costs and Improve Outcomes
Brooten D, Youngblut YM, Deatrick J, Naylor M, York R. Patient problems, advance practice nurse (APN) interventions, time and contacts across 5 patient groups. Journal of Nursing Scholarship. 2003;35:71-77.
Although changes in the healthcare industry have led to an increased emphasis on cost containment, care for patients with major illnesses and conditions remains complicated and expensive. Over the last 2 decades, 5 models of transitional care, expanding the role of advanced practice nurses (APNs) in helping hospitalized patients with a variety of conditions transition to the home environment, have shown that APN care can reduce costs and improve patient outcomes. Researchers reviewed 333 logs of patient contacts from these 5 studies to explore and classify the range of APN assessments and interventions. The study populations included women after a cesarean birth or after a hysterectomy, women during a high-risk pregnancy, very low birth weight (VLBW) infants, and elderly cardiac and surgical patients. APN care focused on discharge planning, setting up outpatient and home care services, and providing care and ongoing assessment in the home. In their patient logs, APNs identified more than 150,000 patient problems, with the predominant ones being physiologic among women after surgical procedure, psychosocial among VLBW infants, and behavioral among the elderly. For all 5 groups, surveillance was the most commonly reported APN intervention, followed by health teaching and counseling, and case management. Treatments and procedures generally accounted for less than 1% of care interventions and APN time. Women in the cesarean birth and hysterectomy groups received the most total interventions, while VLBW infants received the most total APN contacts. Elderly patients were followed for a shorter period of time and thus accounted for fewer APN services. Those patient groups with more APN time and contacts per patient also showed the greatest improvements in both patient outcomes and cost savings. By providing assessment, teaching, and care continuity, APNs can ease the transition to home care while helping to lower the total cost of care.