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Cost Savings through Technological Change in the Administration of Antibiotics

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  10 March 2009

Lycurgus L. Liaropoulos
Affiliation:
University of Athens, Greece

Abstract

Once-daily antibiotics (ODAs) represent a technological change in hospital processes that can lead to substantial savings of scarce resources. In a three-hospital prospective study, five antibiotics were administered to 58 patients suffering from infections classified by major body system. Savings ranged from 10.9% to 38%, depending on hospital organization, method of delivery, and daily dose. Per-unit price proved a poor indicator of hospital cost, as variable delivery costs for labor and materials ranged from 11.6% to 39.5% of total costs.

Type
Research Notes
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1993

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