Provide the data necessary to support and manage patient acuity and severity determination for illness/risk-based adjustment of resources.

Acuity data helps determine appropriate staffing -- as modified by the nurses' level of experience, the organization's characteristics, and the quality of clinical interaction between and among physicians, nurses, and administrators. Research has been done on nurse staffing and patient outcomes; the impact of organizational characteristics on nurse staffing patterns, patient outcomes, and costs; and the impact of nurses' experience on patient outcomes. The research indicates that nurse staffing has a definite and measurable impact on patient outcomes, medical errors, length of stay, nurse turnover, and patient mortality. Also, acuity and severity data is routinely the evidential basis most frequently cited by staff when recommending clinical staffing changes.