Nurse staff allocation by nurse patient ratio vs. a computerized nurse dependency management system: a comparative cost analysis of Australian and New Zealand hospitals.

Coding, costing, and accounting for nursing care requirements in Australian public and private hospitals lacks systematic research. Nurse costing for two nurse staffing allocation methods--nurse patient ratios and a computerized nurse dependency management system--were compared. Retrospective nursing workload management data were obtained from hospital information systems in 21 acute care public and private hospitals in Australia and New Zealand. Descriptive statistics, cost analysis, and cost modeling were conducted for 103,269 shifts of nursing care. The comparison of costs for nursing staff by nurse-patient ratios and by a computerized nurse dependency management system demonstrated differences. The provision of nursing care using the computerized nurse dependency management system was, overall, lower in cost than for nurse-patient ratios.