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MRSA screening could save hospitals money
NEWS IN BRIEF — Posted Feb. 14, 2011
Screening all hospital patients for methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus upon admission could help reduce the spread of the superbug, but the practice is costly. A more targeted intervention to screen only patients in the intensive care unit and isolating those who test positive could save hospitals up to $500 per admission, according to a study in the February issue of the American Journal of Infection Control (link).
The intervention would pay for itself, researchers estimated, because early detection of MRSA would lead to an overall drop in the infection and transmission rate within the hospital. MRSA is associated with about 19,000 deaths annually, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, with yearly treatment costs for patients with MRSA estimated to be at least $3.2 billion.
Note: This item originally appeared at http://www.ama-assn.org/amednews/2011/02/14/prbf0214.htm.
