The Importance of Nursing in Achieving the "Best Care at Lower Cost"

by Richard C Lindrooth and Olga Yakusheva

The Institute of Medicine (IOM) released the findings of its Committee on the Learning Health Care System in America in a report entitled "Best Care at Lower Cost: The Path to Continuously Learning Health Care in America"[1] in early September, 2013.  The report recognized that the complexity of clinical decision-making is rapidly increasing and that clinicians need to continuously update their skills in order to keep up with:

(1) rapidly expanding diagnostic and treatment options; and
(2) the increasingly complex and chronic clinical condition of patients.

Given the growing external demands placed on nurses, the IOM reports that a critical determinant of the success of an organization in dealing with these demands is how "a learning health care organization harnesses its internal wisdom—staff expertise, patient feedback, financial data, and other knowledge—to improve its operations."   Nurses in particular are in an excellent position to play a central role in creating a virtuous feedback loop such that it is feasible to continuously adjust and incrementally improve systems in response to rapidly changing external demands.  The report, supported by the results of a growing and increasingly robust body of academic research, stresses the important role of leadership and management in fostering and maintaining an environment within which continuous learning could take hold.

The recommendations highlight the critical importance of continuing investments in the human capital necessary to enable clinicians' (nurses) to thrive in the dynamic health care market.  Bachelors of Science in Nursing (BSN) programs teach nurses the critical communication skills and analytical tools and that can be harnessed by a well-managed organization in creating an environment that fosters and rewards continuous learning. 

The good news is that employers will increasingly recognize the value of a BSN and reward staff for the additional cost and effort required for the degree.  The IOM Future of Nursing report documents the value of an advanced degree and knowledge of the value of a BSN is reflected in recent hiring trends.  Standard economic theory predicts that the value of a BSN - and human capital in general - depends upon the ability of an organization to put those skills to productive use.  Well-managed organizations will be apt to reward advanced training precisely because the organization can harness the human capital to increase productivity. 

The IOM report documents the experiences of many organizations that have successfully fostered the skills and experience if their staff to improve outcomes and productivity.  While the case studies are encouraging, there are even more organizations that still have not adopted the management practices necessary to facilitate continuous learning.  An organization's future success hinges on its ability to keep up with rapidly changing treatments and the increasingly complex needs of patients. Those organizations that are successful in doing so will thrive and grow market share at the expense of organizations that fail to keep up. 

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[1] Smith, M; R. Saunders, L. Stuckhardt, and J.M. McGinnis, Editors. 2013. ""Best Care at Lower Cost: The Path to Continuously Learning Health Care in America." Available at: http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=13444, accessed on September 20, 2013.