[Concept for Planning the Nurse-Patient Ratio and Nursing Fee Payment Linkage System]

This article describes the current situation in Taiwan with regard to the nurse-patient ratio and nursing fee payments, reviews the related policies and results in developed countries, and then proposes a plan for improving the domestic situation. Direct relationships exist between patient nursing quality and patient safety and the nurse-patient ratio as well as between nursing fee payments and the nurse-patient ratio. Therefore, in order to enhance the quality and safety of nursing care, it will be necessary to develop and institute a payment linkage system that links nursing fee payments to the nurse-patient ratio. This process requires public consensus and planning in order to institute an equitable and effective payment linkage system in the future.