"People have been wondering for years if it would be possible for patients to deliver their own IV antibiotics, but there was concern about the possibility of infection at the infusion site, worry about whether patients would give themselves the right amount of antibiotics, and so on," said Dr. Robert Haley, Professor of Internal Medicine and senior author of the paper.
The study compared 944 uninsured patients who administered their own IV antibiotics with 224 insured patients whose antibiotics were administered by a health care worker, analyzing 30-day hospital readmission rates and mortality.
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"We compared these two groups to see if these patients could accomplish this without worse outcomes, and - to our surprise - it turned out the self-administered group had a 47 percent lower rate of 30-day readmission," said Dr. Haley.
The authors suggest that patient empowerment and engagement in their own health care contributed to the lower rate of readmission among those who self-administered their drugs. Mortality rates were similar between the two groups.
"This is a win-win situation," said Dr. Haley, who holds the U.S. Armed Forces Veterans Distinguished Chair for Medical Research, Honoring Robert Haley, M.D., and America's Gulf War Veterans. "It's an obvious win for the patients, who don't have to sit in the hospital for six weeks and can go about their normal lives. It's also a big win for the public hospitals. Having these patients take up beds has been costly for these hospitals, which are often full."
The self-administered antibiotics program saved 27,666 patient days at Parkland during the four years of the study - the equivalent of adding 26 beds.
"Dr. Bhavan was courageous to do this, and now there is a group of infectious disease physicians who are extremely excited about these findings," said Dr. Haley.
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About UT Southwestern Medical Center
UT Southwestern, one of the premier academic medical centers in the nation, integrates pioneering biomedical research with exceptional clinical care and education. The institution's faculty includes many distinguished members, including six who have been awarded Nobel Prizes since 1985. The faculty of more than 2,700 is responsible for groundbreaking medical advances and is committed to translating science-driven research quickly to new clinical treatments. UT Southwestern physicians provide medical care in 40 specialties to about 92,000 hospitalized patients and oversee approximately 2.1 million outpatient visits a year.
