Fixing the Health-Care System
Health system innovation and transformation
Health-care services are not immune to the negative impacts of a recession, and in the best of times, the public coffers are not bottomless. We must continually bring to the attention of managers, executives, employers and health-care decision-makers the value of nursing and the difference that registered nurses (RN) make in our publicly funded health-care system.
More than 250,000 RNs are working on the front lines of care, saving lives, promoting health and reducing costs. RNs are a sound investment in any economic climate.
Read the research below and equip yourself with the information and evidence you need to speak out and speak up about the cost-effectiveness of nursing services and the vital role RNs play in health care.
Registered Nurses: On the Front Line of Wait Times – Moving Forward now available!
The 2009 Registered Nurses: On the Front Lines of Wait Times presents innovative examples of the many ways in which RNs are reducing or managing wait times across the continuum of care and across the country by promoting better health, providing more entry points in the health system, collaborating as members of interprofessional teams, preventing and managing chronic disease and providing quality care to improve health outcomes. The 2011 updated version sheds new light on how RNs are working in creative ways to address the negative impacts of waiting on individuals and families. Executive Summary.
RNs contribute to a cost-effective health-care system
As clinicians, consultants, researchers, policy leaders, administrators and educators, RNs offer innovations that reduce health-care costs and enhance the effectiveness of the health system.
Appropriate RN staffing strengthens the system and improves patient safety
Appropriate RN staffing levels and well-thought-out staffing decisions have an impact on the sustainability of the health-care system and on patient safety.
RNs reduce health-care costs and improve quality of care
Increasing health-care costs challenge the sustainability of our current health system. CNA’s return on investment research findings demonstrate how nurses are solution providers by reducing health-care costs, increasing system capacity and improving quality of care. The following studies are authored by both Canadian and international researchers; reflect a variety of clinical settings; and include health promotion, interprofessional care and the use of technology.
- Nurses Caring for Children with Asthma
Nurse-led follow-up of children with asthma is as effective as follow-up by a pediatrician, but the cost is 17.5 per cent lower. - Nurse-led Respiratory Intermediate Care Teams
Having nurse specialists manage the care of patients at home reduces admissions and shortens the length of hospital stays, thereby reducing health system costs. - Registered Nurses Providing Direct Care in Nursing Homes
Increasing the time RNs spend providing direct care to residents of nursing homes from 10 minutes per resident per day, to 30-40 minutes, reduces adverse outcomes, thereby achieving net cost savings over the long run.
