Patients undergoing surgery at hospitals Magnet-recognized for nursing excellence are more likely to have better outcomes at lower costs, according to research from the Philadelphia-based University of Pennsylvania, published in JAMA Surgery.
Researchers compared more than 25,000 matched pairs of Medicare patients who underwent the same surgeries in over 300 hospitals to determine the impact a Magnet-recognition might have on outcomes. In addition to finding patients in Magnet-designated hospitals had lower death rates after surgery, the authors reported better outcomes weren't significantly more expensive.
"[W]e found that Magnet hospitals achieved lower mortality at the same or lower costs by admitting 40 percent fewer patients to intensive care units and shortening length of hospital stay," Linda Aiken, PhD, RN, director of the Center for Health Outcomes and Policy Research at the University of Pennsylvania School of Nursing, said in a news release.