The association between the employment of infectious diseases physicians and antibiotic expenditures in regional hospitals

• Main Authors: Yi-Chun Lin, 林宜君
• Other Authors: Kuang-Hung Hsu
• Format: Others
• Language: zh-TW
• Published: 2006
• Online Access: http://ndltd.ncl.edu.tw/handle/88882455515869367639

碩士 === 長庚大學 === 醫務管理學研究所 === 94 === Infectious diseases (ID) physicians played a major role in patient care, infection control, antibiotic management, teaching and consultation in the hospital. Their contribution and functionality of the role, infectious diseases physicians, in hospital were not studied properly before. Aside the indirect benefits, this study herein disclose their contribution on antibiotic expenditures and patient’s outcomes directly. The material is from inpatient claim data provided by the Bureau of National Health Insurance in 2004. The study has further classified regional hospitals into employment and non-employment of infectious disease physicians. Medical expenditures, antibiotic expenditures, patient’s prognosis, and lengths of stay were analyzed to differentiate between the two study groups. The results have demonstrated that average total medical cost per capital was higher in employment group than that of non-employment group at NT$ 2,505 (p<0.01) and similar observations with drug cost at NT$875 (p<0.001). The study has estimated that employment of infectious diseases physicians could save antibiotic cost in average of NT$468 (p<0.05) and intravenous administered antibiotic cost at NT$ 551 per case (p<0.01). Patient’s prognosis were found better in employment group than that of non-employment group while pneumonia has shown statistical significance on better prognosis among three selective infectious diseases (p<0.05). In conclusion, the employment of infectious diseases physicians will save antibiotic expenditures in 10% while prognosis becoming better without influencing lengths of stay. The value of infectious diseases physicians is doubtless in direct measures of cost regardless indirect costs. The administrators shall take this issue into serious account for future strategy in personnel.