Classification of patients by complexity codes for measurement of the nursing staff workload in a post-anesthesia recovery unit
Section: Healthcare Management
How to quote
López Quesada T, Palmero Hernández MN, Abad Gurumeta A, López Martínez AM. Clasificación de pacientes por códigos de complejidad para medición de cargas de trabajo enfermero en una Unidad de Recuperación Postanestésica. Metas Enferm 2013; 16(5):20-24.
Authors
1Teresa López Quesada, 2Mª Nuria Palmero Hernández, 3Alfredo Abad Gurumeta, 4Ana María López Martínez
Position
1Enfermera de Bloque Quirúrgico. Hospital Universitario Infanta Sofía. Madrid.2Enfermera. Supervisora de Quirófanos. Hospital Universitario Infanta Sofía. Madrid.3Doctor en Medicina. F.E.A. Anestesiología, Reanimación y Terapéutica del Dolor. Hospital Universitario Infanta Sofía. Madrid.4Enfermera de Quirófano. Hospital Universitario Infanta Sofía. Madrid.
Contact address
Teresa López Quesada. C/ José Celestino Mutis, 5 portal 3, 3ºA. 28703 San Sebastián de los Reyes (Madrid).
Contact email: teresalopezq@hotmail.com
Abstract
Method: prospective descriptive study for six months, from April to September, 2009. The population object of the study were nurses joining the unit, from the areas of operating rooms, functional tests, emergencies and hospitalization; and the sample included all patients admitted to hospital during the time of the study. A patient classification system based on complexity codes was used, assigning a code (from 1 o 5) to each patient, based on their needs for watch and/or care during the immediate post-operatory period, and on how many devices they had. The number of users from each code was analyzed in time segments established for 24 hours.
Results: those patients with lower complexity (Codes 1 and 2) represented 72.98% of the sample, while those with higher complexity (Codes 3, 4 and 5) represented 26.2%; the rest consisted of admissions for techniques performed, pediatric patients and exitus. Patients with more complex codes increased: Code 3 from 14.5% to 31.7%; Code 4 from 1.16% to 2.75%; Code 5 from 0.5% to 1.9%. Pediatric patients increased from 0.3% to 4.8%. The time segments with a higher number of patients admitted to the unit, regardless of the month, were from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Conclusions: the increase in care complexity in the Post-Anesthesia Recovery Unit (PARU), identified through classification by codes, shows the optimization required in terms of human resources in order to achieve an adequate nurse-patient ratio; this requires new studies for its validation.
Keywords:
complexity codes; critical care; management; nurse staff workloadpost-anesthesia recovery unit
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