MedPage Today October 12, 2023
— But opposition from most hospital groups remains fierce
For nearly 2 decades, only one state — California — governed the number of patients assigned to a hospital nurse. Recently, Oregon became the second. Advocates of nurse-to-patient ratios are hopeful other states will follow.
The primary barrier? Hospitals.
Hospital groups and some nurse executives say ratios are a one-size-fits-all response to a dynamic system. They claim that new technologies transforming care delivery make ratios out of step with health system realities. And some hospital leaders argue that ratios would increase costs and threaten patient access.
Even if ratios were a silver bullet, the workforce supply simply isn’t there, they say.
Proponents of ratios say standards are not one-size-fits-all but tailored...
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