After an examination, the ID specialist realized what was wrong with the woman’s foot wasn’t cellulitis; it was gout. They stopped the antibiotic treatment, but the patient already had C. difficile. Ultimately, the patient had to have part of her bowel removed because of the complication from the unnecessary antibiotic treatment.
At the Becker’s Hospital Review 5th Annual Meeting in Chicago on May 17, Ronald Nahass, MD, president of the healthcare consulting company ID Care, detailed this case study to illustrate how ID experts can add value and contain costs at hospitals and health systems. “We had a lot of opportunities to potentially save dollars and add value,” he said of the case.
Here are three of the ID strategies he discussed during his presentation that could benefit hospitals and health systems.
1. Early consultation. In the case of the 72-year-old woman with gout, bringing in ID specialists earlier on could have prevented the unnecessary antibiotic treatment, the resulting C. difficile and the surgery, Dr. Nahass said. Inappropriate diagnosis is costly for both the patient and the hospital. Although an ID consultant might not be needed for every case of cellulitis, hospitals and health systems should look to develop a system to determine when ID consultation is needed early on in a case, he said.
2. Antibiotic stewardship. Antibiotic resistance is an extraordinarily costly and growing problem in the healthcare industry, Dr. Nahass said. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimate 30 percent or more of the antibiotic use in hospitals isn’t necessary.
ID specialists can help prevent the unnecessary use of antibiotics, reducing the instance of antibiotic resistant infections and antibiotic-related complications like C. difficile, which can add an estimated $26,000 in marginal costs per case for a hospitalized patient, according to Dr. Nahass. “ID specialists improve outcomes and reduce costs,” he said.
3. Focus on risk reduction. Hospitals and health systems can also benefit from ID experts’ focus on safety and risk reduction. “It’s just part of what we do all of our careers,” Dr. Nahass said. “We’re always looking for ways to reduce the risk of developing infection.”
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