Cost containment through restriction of cephalosporins

Total purchases of cephalosporins decreased by $55,715 or 46.2% in first 12 months of program. Purchase costs for cephalosporins decreased from $0.921 per patient day to $0.519 (43.6%) per patient after the study period. Number of milligrams of cephalosporins used per patient day decreased from 398.16 to 178.77 (55.1%) while number of patient days decreased by 4.45%.

Reference:
Britton HL, Schwinghamer TL, Romano MJ. Cost Containment through restrictions of cephalosporins. American Journal of Hospital Pharm. 1981; 38: 1897-900.

Setting:
500-bed teaching hospital, Pittsburgh, PA, USA

Key staff:
infectious disease service, pharmacists

Resources Required:
$1500 annually for monitoring program

Intervention:
Guidelines – Establishment of guidelines that cefazolin is cephalosporin of choice. Physicians contacted if orders deemed to be noncompliant.

Impact:
Total purchases of cephalosporins decreased by $55,715 or 46.2% in first 12 months of program. Purchase costs for cephalosporins decreased from $0.921 per patient day to $0.519 (43.6%) per patient after the study period. Number of milligrams of cephalosporins used per patient day decreased from 398.16 to 178.77 (55.1%) while number of patient days decreased by 4.45%.

Tools:
guidelines for cephalosporin use