Study links readmissions with nurse overtime

Modern Healthcare: Study Ties Nurse Overtime, Readmissions
Fewer patients returned to the hospital soon after leaving when hospitals reduced nurse overtime, according to a newly released study. The research, published in the journal Health Services Research, analyzed records for roughly 1,900 patients at four hospitals during the first half of 2008. Emergency room visits increased with nurse overtime, the study found. Findings support prior research that suggests nurse performance falters when work extends into overtime, according to the study (Evans, 4/25).

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This article was reprinted from kaiserhealthnews.org with permission from the Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation. Kaiser Health News, an editorially independent news service, is a program of the Kaiser Family Foundation, a nonpartisan health care policy research organization unaffiliated with Kaiser Permanente.