Non-value-added time: the million dollar nursing opportunity.

Area of Science:

• Healthcare Management
• Nursing Economics
• Process Improvement

Background:

• High healthcare costs and nursing shortages necessitate analysis of inpatient nursing unit operations.
• Understanding staff time allocation, particularly non-value-added (NVA) activities, is critical for addressing inefficiencies.

Purpose of the Study:

• To determine the NVA time and associated costs for acute care nursing unit staff.
• To identify the primary drivers contributing to high-cost NVA time.
• To compare nursing activities and costs across different types of nursing units.

Main Methods:

• Quantitative analysis of staff time allocation within acute care nursing units.
• Costing methodologies applied to identified NVA activities.
• Comparative analysis of activities and costs based on nursing unit type.

Main Results:

• Quantification of NVA time and its financial impact on nursing units.
• Identification of specific activities and systemic issues driving costly NVA time.
• Variations in NVA time and costs observed across different inpatient unit types.

Conclusions:

• Data on NVA time and costs provide a foundation for optimizing nursing care delivery models.
• Findings support the implementation of targeted process improvement initiatives to enhance efficiency.
• Addressing NVA time is essential for improving staff satisfaction and mitigating the nursing shortage.