PATIENT CLASSIFICATION

SYSTEM
• Patient classification system groups
patients as per the complexity and
amount of their nursing care
necessities.
 Patient classification system
• A patient classification system (PCS)
is a measurement tool used to
determine the nursing workload for a
specific patient or group of patients
over a specific period of time.
• It groups the patients according to
the amount and complexity of their
nursing care requirements.
• It serves as a tool to measure,
patient needs, care givers
interventions and the skill level
required to meet those needs.
 Purposes of PCS
• Determine the required nursing hours needed
to provide safe and efficient patient care
based on standards of care and practice.

• Determine the number and category of staff

needed for providing quality patient care.

• Provide data on each patient care until that

directs and supports staffing decision making
• Ensure that quality nursing care is
provided in a safe environment.

• Assess the level and support services

required.

• Enhance staff satisfaction through a

stress free work environment.
 Uses of PCS
• Improve patient satisfaction by
providing required time to the patient
according to his/her needs.
• Enhance staff satisfaction by
determining staffing needs and thus
decreasing work load.
• Monitor provision of quality nursing
care according to international
standards in a safe work environment.
Classification system considerations

• Age and functional ability

• Communication skills
• Cultural and linguistic diversities
• Severity/urgency of the admitting condition
• Scheduled procedures
• Ability to meet health care requisites
• Availability of social supports
• Other specific needs
(Recommended by the American Nurses Association )
 Types of patient classification system

• Factor evaluation system

• Pro type evaluation system

• Diagnostic Related Groups (DRGs)

 Factor evaluation system

• Patients needs are scored on multiple

care descriptors.
• Common care descriptors are hygiene,
nutrition, medications, fluid management,
skin and wound care, respiratory care,
circulatory care, elimination, mobility,
special diagnostic and treatment
procedure
• The requirement to assist a patient with
each activity is quantified from the
least amount of time required to the
greatest amount of time required.
 Pro type evaluation system

• Describes typical patient and varying

need levels.
 Pro type evaluation system

• Characteristics of patients typical of

each care category are listed, and other
patients are classified on the basis of
their resemblance to a typical patient in
the list.
 Will return to
their pre
illness level of
functioning
Goal is to
Patients with
relieve their
acute episodic
existing
disease or
health
disability
problems

Category
1
 Potential to
return to the pre
episodic level of
functioning

Patients with Chronic health

chronic disease problem can be
with an acute managed by self
episode of illness or the family.

Category
2
 Goal is
rehabilitation to a
maximum level of
functioning

Potential to
increase the level
Category 3 of functioning with
care

Patients with
chronic disease
Patients
with
chronic
disease

Category 4
Category 5
Patients with end
stage disease
Diagnostic related groups (DRGs)
• Grouping patients for prospective
payment.

• The DRG system is a strategy for

grouping patients according to
demographic, diagnostic and therapeutic
characteristics that correlate with
their use of hospital facilities.
 Types or styles
• According to Sulliven, three most
commonly used PCS are:

– Descriptive PCS
– Checklist method
– Time standard method
 Descriptive method

• Purely subjective system where by a

nurse selects which category best suits
the patient.
 Checklist method

• A subjective system where by the

acuity level of a patient is assigned as a
numerical value based upon the level of
activity in the specific categories. The
numerical value is added up to give the
nurse an overall rating.
 Time standard method

• Nurse assigns a time value based upon

various activities that need to be
completed for a patient. The time value
is totaled and converted to an acuity
level.
• Acuity based staffing system regulates
the number of nurses on a shift
according to the patients’ needs and not
according to the raw patient numbers.
• Thankyouuuuuuuuuuuu…