Promoting measure of nursing care workload through computerization

In order to obtain a global approach of the patient centered activity and relative costs, we propose to add to the DRG a care workload evaluation. Such an application was developed and integrated to the automated medical record implemented in each medical department of the hospital. The "Soins Infirmiers Individualisés à la Personne Soignée" (SIIPS) indicator was chosen to estimate nursing acuity. Implementation of the application in ten departments and first results permit to demonstrate the system feasability and the fiability of this indicator. These conclusions conducted us to propose the extension of this experimentation to all the clinical departments of the hospital before the end of 1995.