Effects on Long-Term Care Hospital Staff Mixing Level after Implementing Differentiated Inpatient Nursing Fees by Staffing Grades / 간호행정학회지

ABSTRACT

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to examine trends in number of nursing staff and skill mix. METHODS: Nursing staff and skill mix were measured using the number of nursing staff including nurse aids and registered nurses per bed. Descriptive and panel data regression analyses were conducted using data on long-term care hospitals which included yearly series data from 2006 to 2010 for 119 hospitals. RESULTS: The number of nursing staff per bed increased significantly but percentage of registered nurses decreased significantly from 2007 to 2010. The regression model explained this variation as much as 35% and 44%. CONCLUSION: The results showed that in long-term care hospitals there were more nurse aids employed instead of registered nurses after the implemention of differentiated inpatient nursing fees. Thus clarifying the job descriptions for nurses and nurse aids is needed and appropriate hospital incentive policies should be implemented.