Why you should read this article:

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To recognise that outcomes-driven acuity data provide a valid, objective and reliable measure of patient acuity and workload to support decisions about staffing

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To acknowledge the critical need for nursing data to be used in the care process provided by nurses

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To identify the requirement for nursing leaders to align the right number of resources, skills and competencies to individual patient care

This article describes how driving evidence-based practice across the paediatric population using outcomes-driven acuity technology led to the formulation of a combined multihospital and health information technology acuity council. The cross-collaboration among acuity experts resulted in a pilot project being undertaken, implementing evidence-based practice using acuity data and expanding newborn and post-partum acuity outcome sets. The newborn acuity outcome set was expanded from four to seven outcomes, and the post-partum outcome set from nine to 12 outcomes. The revised outcome sets facilitate implementation of evidence-based practice to evaluate the effect of nursing care and practice on patient outcomes.