6 | Impact Cost and Quality with Workforce Strategies
I
n a recent webinar, I had the opportunity
to show research findings that pointed to a
strong connection between nurse overtime
and patient outcomes. Here are some of the
key findings:
• Nurses working a shift longer than 12.5
consecutive hours are more than twice as
likely to make an error
1
• The risk of a medication error or hospital-
acquired infection is more than tripled when
nurses work more than 40 hours per week
2
• A patient fall or pressure ulcer is more than
three times more likely when nurses work
voluntary overtime
3
While there's strong evidence that health
systems that are frequently using overtime to
fill staffing voids may have a damaging and
pervasive problem, that connection seems to
be getting overlooked.
During the webinar, we had the opportunity to
poll the primarily finance-focused audience.
One of the questions we asked showed that
the vast majority of the audience wasn't really
making a connection between overtime and
clinical outcomes (see figure 1).
The day-to-day challenge of providing high
quality patient care with available staffing
resources is daunting, and relying on overtime
to fill staffing holes can quickly become the
default option. However, it's worth the time and
effort to invest in better control of overtime.
Healthcare is changing at an extremely rapid
pace, and health systems are being tasked
with making the hospital safer, the delivery of
care more cost-effective and the patient care
experience better. Addressing those issues
individually is challenging, and addressing them
collectively can be overwhelming. Controlling
overtime provides a rare opportunity to attack
cost, safety and patient outcomes with one
metric.
Are you missing the connection
between overtime and outcomes?
By Pat Ball
Percent of
Respondents
Number of
Respondents
Response
Yes
No
Unsure
Has overtime been identified as a root cause of
medical errors in your hospital/health system?
8%
47%
45%
9
53
50
Figure 1
Source: webinar participant poll responses
Learn more about the potential negative effect
of overtime:
Read the whitepaper: "How Overtime May be
Harming Your Business and Your Patients"
View the Infographic to learn Overtime's
Domino Effect
1
Rogers, Ann, et al. The Working Hours Of Hospital Staff Nurses
And Patient Safety. Health Affairs, 23, no.4 (2004):202-212.
2
Bae, Sung-Heui. Presence of Nurse Mandatory Overtime
Regulations and Nurse And Patient Outcomes. Nursing
Economics. March/April 2013; 31, no. 2: 59-89.
3
Ibid.
