Hospital patients are routinely hooked up to an IV to receive their prescribed medications. But unhooking them and letting them take pills instead could save millions of dollars a year, according to researchers at Johns Hopkins.
In a review of computerized records for the year 2010, conducted at The Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore, the researchers estimated savings of more than $1.1 million in the Department of Medicine alone — not including surgical patients — by swapping out four commonly prescribed IV medications with their oral equivalents.
“Our study looked at just four drugs administered by one department in one hospital in one year and found more than a million dollars in potential savings,” said Brandyn D. Lau, a medical informatics specialist at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine and the study’s leader. “Imagine if every hospital took a hard look at substituting oral medications for IV ones whenever possible. We’re talking about an enormous financial impact, with no risk to patients.”
According to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, roughly 12 percent of U.S. health care expenditures in 2009 — $293.2 billion — were for medications and nondurable medical products.
Lau says a large-scale switch to oral medications has the potential to not only decrease costs, but also to reduce the need for puncturing veins to insert intravenous tubes or medications directly, procedures that carry a higher risk of hospital-acquired bloodstream infections, and longer hospital stays.
Simple reminders to physicians that their patients may be eligible to switch medication types could yield large savings, the researchers say. And at a time when policymakers are searching for ways to curtail skyrocketing healthcare costs, it might also help reduce budget deficits.
