Healthcare professionals collaboratively working in a neurorehabilitation setting.

Decoding Hospital Workload: How Staff Time Impacts Patient Care and Neurorehabilitation Economics

Lena Kashyap in Health & Wellness November 2025 • 4 min read.

"A Deep Dive into Clinical Staff Activities and Their Connection to Disease Severity in Neurorehabilitation"

In the complex world of healthcare management, understanding how clinical staff spends their time is crucial. Efficient allocation of resources, appropriate staffing levels, and optimized workflows directly impact the quality of patient care. This is particularly true in specialized settings like neurorehabilitation hospitals, where patients often require intensive and multidisciplinary support.

Traditionally, assessing workload in hospitals has been challenging due to variations in patient needs, staff roles, and the complexities of healthcare systems. Work sampling techniques (WST) have emerged as a valuable tool for objectively measuring how staff members allocate their time across various activities. By analyzing these patterns, hospitals can identify areas for improvement, streamline processes, and ensure that patients receive the attention they need.

This article delves into a detailed study conducted in a neurorehabilitation hospital, utilizing work sampling to analyze the activities of nurses, therapists, medical doctors, and health care assistants. The study explores how their time is distributed between direct patient care, indirect tasks, unit-related responsibilities, and personal time. Furthermore, it investigates the crucial relationship between patient disease severity and the demands on clinical staff, shedding light on the economic implications for neurorehabilitation.

What Activities Consume the Most Time for Neurorehabilitation Staff?

Healthcare professionals collaboratively working in a neurorehabilitation setting.

The research meticulously tracked the activities of clinical staff over two workdays, collecting a substantial dataset of 6,974 observations across 581 working hours. The findings revealed significant differences in how various professional categories allocate their time:

Key Findings:

Nurses: Devoted approximately 54.8% of their time to direct patient care, encompassing tasks such as administering medication, assisting with hygiene, and providing emotional support.
Therapists: Spent a significant 75.2% of their time in direct therapeutic interventions, including physical therapy, occupational therapy, and speech therapy.
Medical Doctors: Allocated only 25.4% of their time to direct patient interaction, focusing more on indirect care activities such as writing and updating clinical documentation (almost 60% of their time).
Health Care Assistants: Divided their time between direct patient care (47.5%) and unit-related activities (40.6%), supporting both patient needs and the smooth functioning of the ward.

These figures highlight the distinct roles each professional category plays in the neurorehabilitation setting. Nurses and therapists are primarily engaged in hands-on patient care, while medical doctors dedicate a larger portion of their time to documentation and administrative tasks. Health care assistants provide essential support across both patient care and unit management.

Implications for Healthcare Management and Policy

This study underscores the importance of understanding clinical staff workload in neurorehabilitation settings. By objectively measuring how time is allocated, hospitals can identify areas for optimization, ensure appropriate staffing levels, and improve the quality of patient care. Furthermore, recognizing the relationship between patient disease severity and workload demands is crucial for effective resource allocation and economic planning. As the field of neurorehabilitation continues to evolve, further research is needed to explore innovative approaches to workload management and collaboration among different professional categories.

About this Article -

This article was crafted using a human-AI hybrid and collaborative approach. AI assisted our team with initial drafting, research insights, identifying key questions, and image generation. Our human editors guided topic selection, defined the angle, structured the content, ensured factual accuracy and relevance, refined the tone, and conducted thorough editing to deliver helpful, high-quality information.See our About page for more information.

This article is based on research published under:

DOI-LINK: 10.1111/jonm.12663, Alternate LINK

Title: Clinical Staff Work Sampling In A Neurorehabilitation Hospital And Its Relationship To Severity Of Disease

Subject: Leadership and Management

Journal: Journal of Nursing Management

Publisher: Wiley

Authors: Marco Iosa, Maria Grazia Grasso, Roberto Dandi, Duilio Carusi, Alessandro Bacci, Roberto Marra, Cristina Ancona, Marco Tramontano, Lucia Vecellio Reane, Antonino Salvia, Beniamino Ceccarelli

Published: 2018-08-20

Everything You Need To Know

What is the primary method used to assess staff workload in the neurorehabilitation hospital, and what are its key benefits?

The primary method used to assess staff workload is Work Sampling Techniques (WST). WST allows for objective measurement of how staff members allocate their time across various activities. The key benefits are: identifying areas for improvement, streamlining processes, and ensuring patients receive the necessary attention. By analyzing the distribution of time among direct patient care, indirect tasks, unit-related responsibilities, and personal time, the hospital can optimize resource allocation and improve patient care quality.

How does the time allocation differ between Nurses, Therapists, Medical Doctors, and Health Care Assistants in the neurorehabilitation setting?

The time allocation varies significantly among different professional categories: Nurses dedicate approximately 54.8% of their time to direct patient care. Therapists spend about 75.2% of their time in direct therapeutic interventions. Medical Doctors allocate only 25.4% of their time to direct patient interaction, with almost 60% spent on clinical documentation. Health Care Assistants divide their time between direct patient care (47.5%) and unit-related activities (40.6%). These differences highlight the distinct roles and responsibilities within the neurorehabilitation team.

How does the study link patient disease severity to the demands placed on clinical staff in a neurorehabilitation setting, and why is this important?

The study investigates the relationship between patient disease severity and the demands on clinical staff. While the specific details of this relationship aren't fully elaborated, it implies that as patient disease severity increases, the workload for clinical staff also likely increases. This connection is important for effective resource allocation and economic planning within the neurorehabilitation hospital. Understanding this link allows hospitals to adjust staffing levels and resource distribution based on the patient population's needs, ensuring optimal patient care and efficient use of resources.

What are the implications of the findings for nursing management and overall healthcare efficiency in neurorehabilitation?

The findings underscore the importance of understanding clinical staff workload for improved healthcare management and efficiency. By measuring how time is allocated through Work Sampling Techniques (WST), hospitals can identify areas for optimization. For nursing management, this means ensuring appropriate staffing levels and workflows. For healthcare efficiency, it leads to improved patient care quality and effective resource allocation. The study emphasizes that recognizing the relationship between patient disease severity and workload is crucial for economic planning within the hospital.

What are some potential areas for further research in workload management within neurorehabilitation, as suggested by the study?

The study indicates the need for further research to explore innovative approaches to workload management and collaboration among different professional categories. This could include studies on how to optimize the time allocation of Nurses, Therapists, Medical Doctors, and Health Care Assistants. Further exploration of how to improve efficiency in areas such as clinical documentation, along with strategies to better support unit-related activities, could also be beneficial. Such research can contribute to better patient care and more effective healthcare practices.