The need to optimize nursing care while keeping operational costs at minimum has necessitated adoption of best practices that are cost-effective but do not jeopardize the quality of healthcare. Evidence-based nursing practices involve a framework whereby the nursing personnel formulate critical, clinical questions, search databases and other resources for answers, apply the best evidence based on the patient’s medical needs, and evaluate the performance (Anne-Marie et al., 2013). To this end, nurses must reconcile their professional expertise with evidence-based practices to ensure that they make the best decisions that are cost-effective but confer quality healthcare (Mellinger & McCanless, 2010). For example, while cutting down the size of the nursing personnel may seem an economically viable action, it may have far reaching consequences on the quality of healthcare (Kavanagh, Cimiotti, Abusalem, & Coty, 2012). An overstretched nursing staff may lead to, among other bad results, lack of adequate nursing attention as one nurse struggles to attend to many patients. Such a scenario may save money in the short term, but, overall, the associated poor quality of nursing care and health outcomes can prove to be more expensive (Kavanagh, et al., 2012), neutralizing the initial goal.
Seeing that the impacts of the economic crunch on healthcare cannot be overstated, it is imperative that national and international authorities and stakeholder invest in research that supports evidence-based practices, and educational programs that equip nursing staff with competence in evidence-based practices (Anne-Marie et al., 2013). There is extensive research evidence that implementing evidence-based nursing practices reduces medical errors and prevents bad incidences like patient falls and readmissions, besides reducing hospital stay durations (Anne-Marie et al., 2013). This results in better patient outcomes and goes a long way in saving money and time.
All in all, it is imperative that healthcare stakeholders and policymakers invest in nursing education and evidence-based practices to ensure delivery of cost-effective but quality healthcare.
References
Anne-Marie, B., Ann, R., Jens, P. G. & Lars, W. (2013). Factors Associated with Evidence-
Based Practice among Registered Nurses in Sweden: a National Cross-sectional Study. BMC Health Services Resource, 13: 165.
Kavanagh, K. T., Cimiotti, J. P., Abusalem, S., & Coty, M. (2012). Moving Healthcare Quality
Forward With Nursing-Sensitive Value-Based Purchasing. Journal of Nursing Scholarship, 44(4): 385-395.
Mellinger, E., & McCanless, L. (2010). Evidence-Based Nursing Practice in the Perioperative
Setting: A Magnet Journey to Eliminate Sacred Cows. AORN Journal, 92(5): 572-578.
