Enhancing Patient Safety and Charge Capture Through Smart Infusion Pump Interoperability: A Health Economic Analysis...

Area of Science:

• Health Informatics
• Health Economics
• Patient Safety

Background:

• Smart infusion pumps are critical for medication administration.
• Interoperability with electronic health records (EHRs) is increasingly important for healthcare efficiency.
• Accurate charge capture for outpatient intravenous (IV) services is a financial challenge for health systems.

Purpose of the Study:

• To estimate the economic impact of smart infusion pump interoperability in a hypothetical US health system.
• To quantify the potential improvements in patient safety and revenue capture.

Main Methods:

• An economic model was developed for a hypothetical US health system (6 hospitals, 1,500 beds, 50,000 annual discharges).
• The model assessed reductions in preventable adverse drug events (pADEs) and lost outpatient IV administration charges.
• Model parameters were derived from peer-reviewed literature.

Main Results:

• Annual reduction of 56 pADEs, saving $531,891 in treatment costs.
• Over 5 years, this equates to 281 pADEs reduced and $2,659,457 in cost savings.
• Annual recoupment of $2,419,673 in outpatient infusion charges, totaling $12,098,363 over 5 years.

Conclusions:

• Smart infusion pump interoperability can enhance patient safety and financial performance.
• The model, while based on literature, is theoretical and does not include implementation costs.
• Health systems should weigh the safety and economic benefits against investment costs.