The authors compared 25,076 matched pairs of Medicare patients having surgery in 328 hospitals. Pairs of patients had the exact same surgical procedure and were very similar in terms of age, sex, severity of illness, demographic and chronic illnesses.
Here are three points:
1. Jeffrey H. Silber, MD, PhD, lead study author, found patients treated in hospitals with better nursing had significantly lower death rates after surgery.
2. The outcomes advantage for patients in Magnet hospitals was greater for all patients but especially for sicker and more complicated patients.
3. Surprisingly, researchers found better nursing staff throughout the hospital does not have to be more costly. Magnet hospitals achieved lower mortality at the same or lower costs by admitting 40 percent fewer patients to intensive care units and shortening length of hospital stay.
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