Patient acuity assessment and classification systems

Patient acuity system provides the nurses and other healthcare practitioners in health cares' information that can guide them in their attention towards the patients. The nurses track information and then weigh them in accordance to the urgency of assessment. The basis that the nurses use is the complexity of the level to which patients are unwell. An example is the determination of whether the patients immediately require ventilation and those who do not need any. The nurses are able to pick on the various patients in the healthcare and then record the data. In a single healthcare, there are many patients with different degrees of illnesses. As a result, they all require varying levels of evaluations from the nurses. It is, therefore, imperative that the nurses spread their attention appropriately to avoid any inconveniences. This system helps the nurses to determine the attention that patients require within a short period. This manages allotment of time and resources, and reduces the chances of emergencies by increasing efficiency amongst the nurses (Garza et al. 2008).

In the last half century, there has been a lot of research on the nursing field. With the increase of patients in the healthcare institutions, it has become imperative for to introduce a method to determine the number of nurses required for a certain number of patients. In the 1980s, there was the introduction of the patient classification systems. In spite of the advantages that the system had, it had immense limitations. This was due to the increasing level of acuity in the conditions of health amongst the patients. This method, however, has come a long way in helping the nurses' distribution of attention amongst the patients (Wolgast et al. 2011). However, the system has one significant flaw in that it there is no standardization. Therefore, the nurses in the health cares' have to use their own weights. The system is still in use currently because the levels of patient acuity seem to be on the rise recently.

The system is particularly easy to maintain and work with for long periods. The staff begins by discussing the amount of time that they allocate to the different types of patients. The data that collected then determines the various weights that are suitable for the process. The nurses then enter the data into their computer systems. Next is the selection of the characteristics of patients from the lists that they had obtained early. The program is then capable of choosing the appropriate weights in accordance to the acuity of the problems (Garza et al. 2008). The head nurse is then able to analyze the levels of acuity and consequently assigns the nurses. An example of this is where there is low acuity, which could mean, that it is time for discharging. The suitable period of assessment is eight hours. This is to determine the occurrences of the shift and helps in planning of the next shift.

The system helps a lot in the maintenance of safety within the institution. The nurses are able to determine the acuity of the patients even before they attend to them. This reduces the chances of an emergency in the institution. The nurses attend to cases that are in dire need of help are given the most attention by the nurses. The patients that do not require immediate attention get the service last (Lewis 2008). Therefore, there is a reduction in the cases of emergencies, and there is high maintenance of safety through this system. The system is, therefore, very efficient in its operations. The institution uses the resources that it has in accordance with the needs. In periods of high acuity, there is more deployment of nurses to cover the needs of the patients. This ensures that there is no wastage of resources and only the right numbers of nurses serve an appropriate level of patients.

Utilization of the system is of considerable cost to the institutions that depend on it. Considering the benefits that the system provides, it is particularly affordable. The institution saves on the resources that are of utility within its operation. It saves a lot by allocating only the right number of nurses to the needs of the patients. This saves the institution the extra that it normally uses when the nurses are given the tasks randomly. The system has also brought many changes socially. The institution discharges the patients in time and offers them the appropriate care. This improves the healthcare sector in general by maintaining stability. The institution then improves their reputation amongst the public (Brennan 2009).

This technology has, however, offered new perspectives on the role of nurses. The effect of this is the new awareness on safe staffing. The customers have more satisfaction with just the right numbers of nurses by their sides which increase the utility of each of them. There have also been questions on whether the system is ethical. This is because of the efforts that the healthcare institution to reduce the number of staff. However, this is a justified move since the nurses time their own schedules in accordance to the patients. The system has improved the level of quality within the healthcare industry. Nurses are more aware than before on the needs of the patients and thus provide the best services that they can afford. The concentration that the nurses have stems from the acuity that patients have and not any other criterion.