• Journal of Korean Academy of Nursing
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• v.37 no.3
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• pp.373-380
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• 2007

Purpose: The objective of our study was to figure out costs of nursing services in ICU based on the PCS in order to determine an appropriate nursing fee schedule. Method: Data was collected from 2 hospitals from April 15-16 to April 22-23, 2003. The costs of nursing services in the ICU were analyzed by nursing time based on the nursing intensity. The inpatients in the ICU were classified by a PCS tool developed by the Korean Clinical Nurses Association(2000). Results: The distribution of patients by PCS in the ICU ranged from class IV to Class VI. The higher PCS in ICU consumed more nursing time. As a result, the higher nursing intensity, the more the daily average nursing costs in the ICU. Conclusion: Our study provides evidence to refine the current nursing fee schedule that does not differentiate from the volume of nursing services based on nursing time. We strongly recommend that the current reimbursement system for nursing services should be applied not only to the general nursing units but also to the ICU or other special nursing units.

• Korea Journal of Hospital Management
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• v.25 no.3
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• pp.14-28
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• 2020

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to calculate the total daily nursing workload and the optimum number of nurses per intensive care unit (ICU) based on the nursing intensity and the direct nursing time per inpatient using the patient classification. Methods: Two ICUs at one general hospital were investigated. To calculate the nursing intensity, patient classification according to the nursing needs was conducted for 10 days in each unit during September 2018. We performed patient classifications for a total of 167 patient-days in the Medical Intensive Care Unit (MICU) and 86 patient-days in the Surgical Intensive Care Unit (SICU). The total number of person-days for nurses who responded to the Nursing Time survey was 151 for MICU and 85 for SICU. In each unit, direct and non-direct nursing hours, nursing intensity score, and direct nursing hours were analyzed using descriptive statistics such as frequency, percentage, and average calculated using Microsoft Excel. The amount of nursing workload and the optimum number of nurses were calculated according to the formula developed by the authors. Findings: For the MICU, the average direct nursing time per patient was 5.59 hours for Group 1, 6.98 hours for Group 2, and 9.28 hours for Group 3. For the SICU, the average direct nursing time per patient was 5.43 hours for Group 1, 7.21 hours for Group 2, 9.75 hours for Group 3, and 12.82 hours for Group 4. Practical Implications: This study confirmed that the appropriate number of nurses was not secured in the nursing unit of this study, and that leisure time such as meal time during nursing work hours was not properly guaranteed. The findings suggest that to create working environments where nurses can serve for extended periods of time without compromising their professional standards, hospitals should secure an appropriate number of nurses.