Background. Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) infections cause over $3 billion in annual hospital costs. They were responsible for 48% of hospital-acquired infections in 2014, for which the federal government will penalize hospitals beginning in 2017. Therefore, careful management of MRSA infections by infectious disease (ID) physicians will become crucial in all settings. For those requiring intravenous antibiotics, a physician office infusion center (POIC) may allow for early discharge or avoidance of hospitalization for MRSA patients (pts) with the potential for positive clinical and financial impact.
Methods. The study population included all pts from 10 POICs treated with outpatient parenteral antimicrobial therapy (OPAT) in 2015 with MRSA recorded as the infecting organism. Demographics, diagnosis, inpatient length of stay (iLOS) prior to OPAT and clinical outcomes were compiled. National mean iLOS by diagnosis was used to compare mean iLOS and avoided hospital days derived from pts in this study. Costs were calculated from iLOS saved and daily hospitalization cost by diagnosis, all obtained from the Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project. Statistical analyses were performed using Students t-test.