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Reductions in Blood Infections Shown to Slash Hospital Costs

 |  By John Commins  
   August 24, 2011

Using a hospital safety checklist to reduce deadly bloodstream infections can save lives and produces a tenfold return on the cost of the program, a study from Johns Hopkins shows.

The study calculated that the reduction in bloodstream infections at intensive care units in hospitals across Michigan saved an average of $1.1 million a year.

"We already knew that the Michigan project saved lives and reduced infections," Peter J. Pronovost, MD, the lead author of the study and the director of Johns Hopkins' Armstrong Institute for Patient Safety and Quality, said in a media release. "Now we know that by preventing infections, hospitals actually save money too."

The study showed that each central line-associated bloodstream infection in Michigan costs a hospital an average of $36,500 to treat. The patient safety program cost roughly $3,375 per infection averted between 2003 and 2005. The cost of putting the program in place -- mostly in devoted staff time -- was an average of $161,000 per hospital.

"It makes common sense that giving higher quality care would save you money, but before this, there was very little empirical evidence that it did," Pronovost said. "Now we have it."

Pronovost said his study does not show whether other quality improvement initiatives would yield similar financial benefit, but he said that some likely will.

Each year roughly 80,000 patients with central lines develop life-threatening infections. Of those, about 31,000 are estimated to die — nearly as many as die from breast cancer annually.

The collective cost of treating them may be as high as $3 billion nationally, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. CDC reported bloodstream infections decreased by 58% between 2001 and 2009.

The Michigan program, developed at Johns Hopkins, includes the "cockpit-style" checklist for doctors and nurses to follow when placing a central-line catheter, and five basic steps from hand washing to avoiding placement in the groin area, where infection rates are higher. The program also promotes a "culture of safety," that includes science of safety education; training in identifying safety problems, implement solutions, and measure improvements; and empowering team members to question each other and stop procedures if safety is compromised.

Pronovost said much of the healthcare savings resulting from the initiative go to insurers — both public and private — who are spared the cost of treating these bloodstream infections and subsequent complications. Because of that, Pronovost said insurers should help hospitals implement and develop infection prevention and other quality improvement programs.

"Strategies to improve quality should be at the forefront of efforts to trim healthcare costs. Reducing preventable harm may be the least controversial way to save money and should definitely get more attention," he said.

The research was funded by Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Michigan, through the Michigan Hospital Association.

See Also:
Infection Prevention Pilot Slashes CLABSI by 35%
CLABSI Reductions Saved $1.8B in Healthcare Costs, Says CDC
Reform Sharpens Focus on Quality Outcomes
When the treatment makes patients sick

John Commins is a content specialist and online news editor for HealthLeaders, a Simplify Compliance brand.

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