Enhancing Patient Safety and Charge Capture Through Smart Infusion Pump Interoperability: A Health Economic Analysis for US Health Systems.

Purpose: To estimate the economic impact of implementing smart infusion pump interoperability for a hypothetical health system in the United States (US).

Patients and methods: An economic model was developed to assess the financial impact of implementing smart infusion pump interoperability with electronic health records (EHRs) for a health system. The model perspective was that of a moderately-large hypothetical US heath-system consisting of 6 hospitals, with 1,500 staffed beds and 50,000 discharges annually. The main outcomes of interest in this model were patient safety and outpatient intravenous (IV) administration charge capture. The impact of interoperability on patient safety was assessed by measuring the estimated reduction in preventable adverse drug events (pADEs). The impact on outpatient charge capture was assessed by estimating the reduction in lost charges due to the implementation of interoperability. All model parameters and inputs were derived and supported by peer-reviewed literature.

Results: In the base-case analysis, the implementation of smart infusion pump interoperability resulted in an annual reduction of 56 pADEs, saving the health system $531,891 in associated pADE treatment costs. This equates to a total reduction of 281 pADEs over the 5-year time-horizon, with a cumulative cost savings of $2,659,457. Additionally, the implementation of interoperability recouped $2,419,673 in outpatient infusion administration charges annually, which is equivalent to $12,098,363 in recouped charges over five years.

Conclusion: The implementation of smart infusion pump interoperability has the potential to enhance patient safety by reducing pADEs and improving outpatient administration charge capture. However, it is important to note that while the model is based on peer-reviewed model inputs, the model itself is theoretical in nature without real-world data validation and does not account for investment costs. Health systems should carefully evaluate the safety and economic implications of smart infusion pump interoperability when deciding whether to invest in this technology.