RAFAELA Patient Classification System as a tool for management.

The RAFAELA Patient Classification System offers tools for the managers to follow the adequacy of resourcing through the Nursing Care Intensity per Nurse (NCI/N). The basic idea of the RAFAELA system is that the workload expressed as NCI/N is compared with the optimal NCI level for the ward. By creating systematic reporting on this indicator, managers can follow the workload level on different wards. The measurement tool is available to all nurses as well as to managers. Thus the staff can follow the results of the daily use of patient classification. Managers can use the data for staff allocation between different wards. As a result, the workload can be discussed and analyzed, and the consequences of challenging situations can be resolved. Together with the staff the managers can look for different solutions for the problems. The overall workload can be too high or too low or the variations of the workload can be too large. The overall aim is a workload on an optimal level. RAFAELA offers a multitude of solutions finding new ways to allocate working hours, networking with different wards, discussions with the persons who guide patient flow in the hospital or changing the number of nurses in the ward.