Creating a Coordinated Complex Outpatient Antibiotic Therapy Program to Improve Outcomes and Reduce Costs in a...

Area of Science:

• Infectious Diseases
• Health Systems Management
• Antimicrobial Stewardship

Background:

• Discharged patients with severe infections and prolonged antibiotic needs face risks due to fragmented post-hospital care and limited specialist access.
• HealthPartners experienced significant errors (13 in 6 weeks) in managing these patients, highlighting issues with fragmented oversight.
• Existing care models often burdened primary care providers with complex antibiotic therapy coordination.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the impact of a newly established centralized complex outpatient antibiotic therapy (COAT) program.
• To assess changes in antibiotic therapy duration, hospital length of stay, and cost savings post-intervention.
• To gauge healthcare staff confidence in patient care following COAT program implementation.

Main Methods:

• A pre-post intervention study design comparing patients receiving antibiotic therapy for >2 weeks post-discharge.
• Implementation of a centralized COAT program in 2024.
• Analysis of therapy duration, hospital length of stay, cost, and staff confidence survey.

Main Results:

• Mean antibiotic therapy duration decreased significantly from 50.3 to 34.7 days post-intervention.
• Mean hospital length of stay was reduced by 1.2 days.
• An estimated cost saving of US$575,520 was achieved, with 96% of staff reporting increased confidence.

Conclusions:

• A centralized complex outpatient antibiotic therapy program effectively reduces antibiotic exposure and hospital length of stay.
• The program demonstrates significant cost savings and improves healthcare staff confidence in managing complex antibiotic cases.
• Investment in structured oversight for outpatient antibiotic therapy is cost-effective and improves patient care outcomes.