Quality measurement in nursing: an update of where we are now.

This article summarizes the findings of the third review of nursing quality measurement literature commissioned by the American Nurses' Association, discusses implications of the current state of the art of nursing measurement, and suggests directions based upon lessons learned from all 3 reviews. Using both computer and hand searching methods, 326 articles describing measurement of nursing care quality were abstracted. Recommendations based on the analysis of Literature include incorporating the Nursing Minimum Data Set into databases; documenting nursing hours and nursing educational preparation; determining appropriate patient outcomes within different settings; continued research identifying nurse-sensitive outcomes; and continued nursing leadership in quality improvement efforts for health care.