A new report that shows efforts to prevent central-line-associated bloodstream infections (CLABSIs) saved the government at least $640 million over nearly 20 years is an example of how effective prevention campaigns can be, a veteran hospitalist says.
“The major idea of this report was to show us that complications like bloodstream infections are preventable,” says Ketino Kobaidze MD, PhD, FHM, assistant professor of medicine and associate site director of the division of hospital medicine at the Emory University School of Medicine in Atlanta. “When you prevent these things, you can locate other things. That’s what the major message is to any kind of healthcare provider.”
Published in the June issue of Health Affairs, the report examines the results of CDC programs from 1990 to 2008 to prevent CLABSIs in critical care units and how prevention helped the Centers for Medicaid & Medicare Services (CMS) reduce the amount of reimbursement paid to hospitals for treating such infections.
The authors reported that from 1990 to 2008, between 40,556 and 75,067 CLABSIs were avoided in Medicare and Medicaid patients treated in critical care units. This resulted in:
• Net savings ranging from $640 million to $1.8 billion;
• Net savings per case ranging from $15,780 to $24,391; and
• Per dollar rate of return on CDC investments between $3.88 and $23.85.
“Now, you’re basically expected for it to not happen at all,” says Dr. Kobaidze, referring to a rule implemented by CMS in 2008 that ended reimbursements to hospitals for treating CLABSIs that weren’t present upon admission.
With that rule, CMS included 10 categories of hospital-acquired conditions (HACs) for the payment provision rule, including stage III and IV pressure ulcers and falls that occur while the patient is in the hospital. The rule was updated in 2013 to include HACs related to surgical site infection with cardiac implantable electronic devices and iatrogenic pneumothorax with venous catheterization. TH