Economic aspects of nursing in inpatient naturopathy: vidence from Germany.

The costs of nursing in Germany are defined in terms of "nursing-relevant secondary diagnoses." However, the further development of the German-DRG system reveals nursing diagnoses play a constantly declining role with regard to increasing severity and revenue assurance. In particular, additional therapeutic nursing services performed, for example, by specially trained, certified nurses in acute hospitals focusing on naturopathy are not adequately defined. In this study, researchers analyzed naturopathic care, especially the nursing costs for inpatient care of multi-morbid cardiac patients, with a particular focus on a holistic, comprehensive treatment. Results indicated the nursing costs in an inpatient acute hospital with a naturopathic focus are significantly higher than nursing costs in hospitals operating exclusively according to conventional medicine. Questions about adequate determination of the costs of DRGs for professional groups such as the nursing service need to be addressed.