| Sumario: | SYNOPSIS: In this era of healthcare reform and managed competition, nursing executives are responsible for the efficient and cost-effective management of departments. To determine the costs of nursing care delivery and the allocation of nursing resources, five tools discussed and briefly analyzed are the use of patient acuity systems, restructuring of patient care delivery models, changes in practice style, reduction in indirect labor costs, and employment of cost-accounting techniques to analyze nursing labor. The purchase of a bedside computer terminal is used to illustrate cost-benefit analysis. The use of several tools increases the likelihood that the information obtained will be reliable enough to base decisions regarding cost and resource allocation.
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