Compliance Does Not Have to Mean Complexity
The 2026 enforcement of NPG-12 by The Joint Commission requires:
- Acuity-based staffing logic
- Leadership oversight documentation
- Competency validation
- Evidence of responsive staffing decisions
Many leaders assume this requires months of system redesign.
It does not.
With the Acuity Index and NORA, compliance can be implemented quickly and operationalized seamlessly within existing workflows.
Step 1: Standardize Acuity Measurement
The Acuity Index integrates into your EHR through structured flowsheets aligned with existing nursing documentation.
At shift change:
- Nurses enter two brief intervention-level assessments
- EHR-derived data automatically feeds the scoring engine
- An acuity score is calculated for each patient
- Unit-level acuity is generated
There is no new standalone platform for bedside staff.
There is no workflow disruption.
Step 2: Activate NORA for Real-Time Monitoring
NORA sits on top of the Acuity Index and provides:
- Unit-wide acuity distribution views
- Rate-of-change alerts
- Staffing-to-acuity alignment visibility
- Escalation pattern monitoring
- Executive reporting dashboards
NORA allows nurse leaders and administrators to ask operational questions and receive structured, data-driven insights.
It is AI-assisted analysis — not autonomous clinical decision-making.
Clinical authority always remains with licensed professionals.
Step 3: Generate Audit-Ready Documentation
NPG-12 surveyors will expect:
- Written staffing logic
- Annual review artifacts
- Governance reporting
- Examples of staffing adjustments based on acuity
NORA enables:
- Standardized reports
- Trend documentation
- Historical acuity snapshots
- Monitoring audit trails
This significantly reduces the administrative burden of preparing defensible survey documentation.
Fast Deployment. Structured Support.
The onboarding process includes:
- Dedicated project management
- EHR integration support
- Testing protocols
- Go-live assistance
- Ongoing monitoring guidance
Most facilities can launch within days once integration resources are aligned.
The system is built to adapt to existing EHR architecture and security frameworks.
Built by Behavioral Health — For Behavioral Health
Unlike generic staffing analytics tools, the Acuity Index was developed specifically for inpatient psychiatric environments.
It converts subjective behavioral observations into measurable intervention demand.
It was validated using thousands of inpatient behavioral health records in collaboration with leading institutions.
This behavioral health specificity is critical under NPG-12 scrutiny.
Achieve and Exceed NPG-12
NPG #12 is not simply about meeting minimum staffing numbers.
It is about:
- Measuring patient need
- Monitoring risk
- Aligning staffing with acuity
- Demonstrating executive oversight
With Acuity and NORA, organizations move beyond reactive compliance toward proactive operational governance.
January 1, 2026 is approaching.
Leaders who act now will enter survey season with defensible infrastructure.
