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

Patients leaving the hospital with severe infections requiring prolonged antibiotic treatment face significant risks without vigilant monitoring, especially where access to infectious disease specialists is limited. At HealthPartners, care after discharge was historically disjointed and often left to primary care providers to coordinate. In 2023, the health system's Antimicrobial Stewardship Program found 13 errors over 6 weeks across 5 hospitals, largely due to fragmented oversight and limited access to specialists. In response, the health system established a centralized complex outpatient antibiotic therapy program in 2024 to support discharged patients. Patients receiving antibiotic therapy for more than 2 weeks after discharge were compared pre intervention and post intervention. The mean duration of therapy was significantly shorter post intervention (50.3 days vs. 34.7 days (-15.6; 95% confidence interval [CI], -23.6 to -7.6). The mean hospital length of stay was 1.2 days shorter (95% CI, -2.4 to 0), with an estimated cost saving of US$575,520. A survey of hospital staff found that 96% reported increased confidence in patient care after the program was implemented. The cost of the necessary investments in structured oversight may be offset through reductions in hospital length of stay.