Are written or standardized nursing care plans (NCP) as effective in enhancing the quality of patient care, and thus patient outcomes, as has been proposed for well over a decade? Data in this study did not validate the superiority of these two types of NCPs over another planning system. If the findings of this study are supported by further research, there will be scientific evidence upon which JCAH can base a reconsideration, and possible elimination, of their requirement for written/printed nursing diagnoses with corresponding nursing orders as part of nursing care planning systems.