Patient Days per Registered Nurse

Patient Days per Registered Nurse

KPI Details

Patient Days per Registered Nurse measures the total number of patient days managed by a healthcare facility in relation to the number of registered nurses working for the facility at the same point in time. A relatively low value for this metric is typically related to a few common factors, including highly manual (i.e., error and rework prone) healthcare facility processes and procedures (e.g., patient medication tracking, patient monitoring, medical history gathering, etc. practices that are almost entirely managed through manual labor), overstaffing of registered nurses, general inefficiencies within healthcare facility processes (e.g., inefficient gathering of patient medical histories, poor diagnosis of symptoms and patient issue severity, etc.), and sub-par registered nurse training and performance. While a low value for this metric is preferred, this should also be balanced with the level of service being provided to patients, as the quality of the services may impact patient satisfaction, the length of the patient's stay in the healthcare facility, and the patient's mortality.

KPI Definition

The total number of patient days managed by a healthcare facility divided by the number of registered nurses working for the facility at the same point in time.

KPI Best Practices

• Employ part-time employees and monitor patient volume daily to make staffing decisions
• Offer benefits that are competitive or superior to industry averages to attract top nursing talent
• Regularly audit nurse distribution and duties to identify areas of improvement

KPI Calculation Instructions Patient Days per Registered Nurse?

Two values are used to calculate this KPI: (1) the total number of patient days managed by a healthcare facility, and (2) the number of registered nurses working for the facility at the same point in time. A patient day is considered to be a unit of time during which the services of a healthcare facility is being used by a patient. Patient days begin at midnight and ends 24 hours later. A part of a patient day, including the day of admission, counts as a full patient day. The day of discharge or death is not counted as a patient day. A registered nurse (RN) is considered to be a nurse who has completed at least an associate’s degree in nursing (ADN) or a bachelor of science degree in nursing (BSN) and has successfully passed the NCLEX-RN certification exam. Registered nurses typically provide direct care to patients, assist physicians in medical procedures, offer guidance to family members and lead public health education campaigns. RNs may also operate medical monitoring equipment and administer medications.

KPI Formula :

Total Number of Patient Days Managed / Number of Registered Nurses