2004 OPEN FORUM Abstracts
COST EFFECTIVENESS OF USING LEVABUTEROL VS RACEMIC ALBUTEROL
Larry
Lindberg, BS, RRT, Respiratory Care Department, Northside
Hospital, Atlanta, GA.
Background: With the
introduction of Levalbuterol (Lev) in our institution we needed to
ensure that it would be a cost effective replacement for Racemic
Albuterol (Rac).
Method: In an attempt to
quantify cost, we utilized our departmental information system to
collect and extract data on the number of patients and treatments
delivered with Rac vs. Lev from November 1997-October 1999 and
November 2000- October 2002 for each group respectively. The data
includes both ventilated and non-ventilated patients of all age
groups. By collecting a large sample size for each group, we believe
they are of similar content with respect to demographics, disease
state, and severity. To determine the financial impact of this study,
if any, we looked at both labor cost per procedure and drug cost
(Average Wholesale Price of 3ml unit dose) for each group. Labor
costs were derived using the AARC Respiratory Therapist Human
Resources survey-2000 projected mean salary for a
Therapist/Technician of $16.66 per hour and a time standard of 13.8
minutes per therapy.
Results: In our Rac group we
had 4,780 patients who received 118,905 treatments for an average of
25.0 treatments per patient. In our Lev group we had 4,970 patients
who received 56,238 treatments for an average of 11.3 treatments per
patient. We realized a reduction on average of 13.7 treatments per
patient stay and a 53% reduction in total therapies in the Lev group.
We determined a potential cost savings based on this reduction of
$156,332 over a two-year period for the Lev group. In addition to the
cost benefit, the reduction in number of therapies has aided us in
avoiding concurrent therapy despite an increase in the number of
patients. As discussed in the AARC White Paper on Concurrent
Therapy, this has many potential benefits including JCAHO
compliance and reduction in both medical and billing errors.
Conclusion: Based upon these
findings, we believe the use of Lev can be considered a cost
effective and more efficient alternative to Rac when used according
to package insert dosing guidelines.