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Are We Ready for an Outpatient Parenteral Antibiotic Therapy (OPAT) Bundle? A Critical Appraisal of the Evidence.
Clin Infect Dis. 2013 Apr 9;
Authors: Muldoon EG, Snydman DR, Penland E, Allison GM
Abstract
Healthcare 'bundles' have been developed to help providers improve the reliability and delivery of essential healthcare processes. Bundles have been shown to be effective in reducing healthcare associated infection rates and are increasingly used to ensure the quality of patient care. Outpatient Parenteral Antimicrobial Therapy (OPAT) is now standard medical practice in the treatment of a wide variety of infections. We review 6 components that we believe comprise an OPAT bundle and the evidence supporting each: patient selection, ID consultation, patient/care giver education, discharge planning, outpatient monitoring/tracking, and OPAT program review. To ensure that patients are receiving optimal care, further program development and outcomes research should target these bundle components to bring the evidence base up to date with current medical practices.
PMID: 23572486 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher]