Impact of a target drug monitoring program on the usage of clindamycin

The use of parenteral clindamycin at the Health Sciences Centre had not been amendable to traditional cost containment strategies. Clindamycin was targeted through a Target Drug Monitoring (TDM) Program to improve its appropriate use. A retrospective audit was conducted to serve as a baseline. In the concurrent phase, the TDM pharmacist reviewed and assessed clindamycin cases based on approved criteria. Those cases which failed to meet the criteria were targeted in order to convert clindamycin to alternative agents. The concurrent TDM program reviewed 339 cases of clindamycin over a 32-week period, of which 76 cases (22.4%) failed to meet the criteria and were targeted. Of the 76 recommendations, 48 (63.2%) were accepted. Cost-avoidance due to direct intervention was approximately $16,000 annualized compared to $28,000 estimated from the retrospective audit. Fiscal year-end antibiotic usage indicated a dramatic decline (32%) in clindamycin use. Net savings of $37,600 were attributed to modification of physician prescribing. The TDM program was successful in identifying areas of inappropriate clindamycin use and correcting them by direct interaction with the prescriber(s).