Contexts for the study of the economic influence of nursing diagnoses on patient outcomes

PURPOSE: To examine the historical, legal/ organizational, informatics, clinical, economic, and policy contexts underlying economic consequences of nursing diagnoses on patient outcomes. DATA SOURCES: Published literature, online material. DATA SYNTHESIS: Nursing diagnoses influence diagnostic-specific patient outcomes and other outcome variables such as length of hospital stay, morbidity, and mortality. CONCLUSIONS: Examination of the economic ramifications of nursing diagnosis on patient outcomes can be facilitated using standardized language and databases containing nursing-sensitive measures.