Meaningful Measurement of Nursing in the Ambulatory Patient Care Environment
How do you quantify ambulatory care nurse value with metrics?
How do you quantify the impact of the ambulatory care RN role on patient care and outcomes?
What Nurse-Sensitive Indicators (NSIs) are you using in ambulatory care?
Nurse-Sensitive Indicators (NSIs) assess, evaluate, and articulate the value of ambulatory care nursing. Share this flyer to educate others and highlight the importance and utility of NSIs.
This flyer was created by AAACN’s NSI Team.
Press Ganey Acquires CALNOC Nurse-Sensitive Indicator Registry, Indicators.
Read about it: (Mar. 08, 2019)
Over the past 20 years, with an eye on reducing costs and improving care, patients are spending less time in the hospital and more time in ambulatory care. Yet the way we currently measure a nurse’s impact is the same for inpatient and outpatient settings.
As patients and families in ambulatory care settings often need care coordination, transition management, health promotion, and access to community resources, the role of the RN as a leader in this setting is increasingly vital.
Nurse-sensitive indicators (NSIs) articulate the value of nursing’s contributions by measuring elements of patient care and patient outcomes that are directly affected by nursing practice. The identification and measurement of NSIs is critical in describing the contributions and value of registered nurses (RNs) in ambulatory care settings.
In fall 2015, AAACN and the Collaborative Alliance for Nursing Outcomes (CALNOC) formalized a collaborative partnership to develop and pilot test ambulatory care NSIs and move them into a structured, benchmarkable database. The initial work involved pilot testing endorsed measures for adoption as NSIs in ambulatory and procedural areas.
Technical Expert Panels (TEPs) representing more than 150 participant organizations around the US were convened to work on development and feasibility for measurement and benchmarking for several NSIs.
To date, a number of NSIs are available for benchmarking that occurred as a result of the AAACN/CALNOC partnership and the leadership of AAACN to drive this work.
View a table that shows NSIs available for benchmarking through the CALNOC registry in 2018.
The next phase of the work addresses more complex areas related to care coordination, patient-centered medical homes, telehealth, chronic conditions, and population health outcomes.
Ambulatory Care Nurse-Sensitive Indicator Industry Report
The AAACN Ambulatory Care Nurse-Sensitive Indicator Industry Report (2016) proposed initial ambulatory care NSIs and additional publications have reported progress. The AAACN/CALNOC collaboration validated the role of the RN in ambulatory care settings with the development of the nation's first ambulatory care NSI registry database.
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n spring 2013, the American Academy of Ambulatory Care Nursing (AAACN) Board of Directors commissioned a task force to identify and define nurse-sensitive indicators specific to the ambulatory care setting, and the Ambulatory Care Nurse-Sensitive Indicator Industry Report: Meaningful Measurement of Nursing in the Ambulatory Patient Care Environment was published in 2016.
This landmark document explores:
- The evidence behind NSIs in ambulatory care.
- Existing NSIs with recommended changes for more meaningful use in ambulatory care.
- 13 newly proposed measures that uniquely reflect the role of the RN in the ambulatory care setting.
You can use this report as a stepping stone to enhance quality reporting and benchmarking to drive nursing excellence in ambulatory care.
NSI Industry Report Table of Contents
- Section 1: Overview of Information Affecting Quality Measurement in Ambulatory Care Nursing
- Section 2: Review of Existent Endorsed Ambulatory Care Nurse-Sensitive Indicator Measures
- Section 3: AAACN NSI Task Force Proposed Indicators for Development and Endorsement: Existent Health Care Measures Adapted and Recommended as Ambulatory Care Nurse-Sensitive Indicator Measures
- Section 4: AAACN NSI Task Force Proposed Indicators for Development and Endorsement: Original Measures Recommended as Ambulatory Care Nurse-Sensitive Indicator Measures
- Section 5: Current Exemplars in Ambulatory Care Nurse-Sensitive Indicator Measurement
- Section 6: Glossary of Definitions and Supportive Statements
- Section 7: References and Additional Readings
The NSI Report is available to everyone!
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This report is freely available to any AAACN member, and/or an AAACN account holder.
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More resources and information
- Access the FREE Archived Webinar - Ambulatory Care Nurse-Sensitive Indicators: State of the Industry. Recorded Monday, June 20, 2016.
- Role of the Registered Nurse in Ambulatory Care Position Statement
- From Nursing EconomicS - Ambulatory Care Nurse-Sensitive Indicators Series:
- Capturing the Role of Nursing in Ambulatory Care – The Case for Meaningful Nurse-Sensitive Measurement
- Reaching for the Tipping Point in Measuring Nurse-Sensitive Quality in the Ambulatory Surgical and Procedure Environments
- Starting with Low-Hanging Fruit: Proposing the Adaptation Of Health Care Measures to the Role of the Nurse in Ambulatory Care
- Patient Engagement as a Nurse-Sensitive Indicator In Ambulatory Care
- Registered Nurses Make a Difference with Ambulatory Care Nurse-Sensitive Indicators
- Nursing Leader Describes Positive Impact of Ambulatory Care Nurses - The increasingly vital role of ambulatory care nurses in health care today is the focus of this interview with Rachel E. Start, MSN, RN, Director of Ambulatory Care Nursing at Rush Oak Park Hospital.