title: Medicare coverage of outpatient ambulatory intravenous antibiotic therapy: a program that pays for itself.
abstract: A number of studies have documented the safety, efficacy, and cost-effectiveness of outpatient intravenous (i.v.) antibiotic therapy for patients with infectious diseases. Nevertheless, Medicare policy prohibiting coverage of outpatient, self-administered drugs has severely limited access of Medicare patients to ambulatory i.v. therapy, thus forcing them to rely on more costly, impatient hospital care. To test the hypothesis that a new Medicare benefit providing coverage for ambulatory i.v. antibiotic therapy could significantly reduce the program's expenditures for the treatment of infectious diseases (including pneumonia, osteomyelitis, cellulitis, and endocarditis), a cost model was constructed with use of patient care information from the clinical literature as well as clinical experts, Medicare data, and other medical claims databases. The model shows cumulative 5-year savings of nearly $1.5 billion associated with the new Medicare benefit. Policy makers should consider implementing such a benefit.
authors.affiliation: Infections Limited P. S., Tacoma, Washington, USA.
authors.forename: A D
authors.initials: AD
authors.lastname: Tice
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Poretz
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Cook
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Zinner
authors.forename: M J
authors.initials: MJ
authors.lastname: Strauss
mesh_terms: D000553:Ambulatory Care / Q000191:economics* / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence; D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000191:economics* / Q000627:therapeutic use; D002481:Cellulitis / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000191:economics; D003362:Cost-Benefit Analysis; D006801:Humans; D007275:Injections, Intravenous; D006278:Medicare / Q000191:economics / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence; D010019:Osteomyelitis / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000191:economics; D011014:Pneumonia / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000191:economics; D015397:Program Evaluation; D014481:United States
chemical_list: D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents