Abstract:Purpose: The development and implementation of a pharmacist-managed outpatient parenteral antimicrobial therapy (OPAT) program in a county teaching hospital are described.Summary: A pharmacist-managed OPAT program was developed and implemented at a county teaching hospital to provide consistent evaluation, approval, and monitoring of patients requiring OPAT for the treatment of infection. The developmental and implementation stages of the OPAT program included (1) a needs assessment, (2) the identification of resources necessary for program operation, (3) delineation of general OPAT program operations and activities of individual OPAT clinicians, (4) the development of patient selection criteria, including a plan of care algorithm, and (5) acquisition of administrative support to approve the program. In this program, the OPAT pharmacist plays an integral role in the management and oversight of OPAT patients, working under a collaborative agreement with infectious diseases physicians. The OPAT pharmacist assists with appropriate patient and regimen selection, confirmation of orders on discharge, assuring that laboratory tests for safety surveillance are performed and evaluated, performing routine monitoring for adverse events and line complications, and assuring the removal of the vascular access device upon the completion of OPAT.
Conclusion:The OPAT program provides structured monitoring, patient follow-up, and led to improvements in patient outcome with minimization of treatment and line-related adverse events.Outpatient parenteral antimicrobial therapy (OPAT) is the practice of administering parenteral antimicrobial therapy in settings outside of a hospital, such as the home or other outpatient facility (e.g., infusion center, physician office, skilled nursing facility).1 The use of OPAT has grown substantially since the practice was first described in 1974. This increased use has been attributed to the development of antibiotics that can be administered once or twice daily, technological advances in vascular access and infusion devices, high OPAT acceptance by patients and healthcare professionals, the availability of reliable OPAT services in the community, and efforts to reduce overall healthcare costs. 1 Additionally, as healthcare providers and institutions are increasingly evaluated on metrics such as quality of care and hospital length of stay, OPAT will likely be utilized at a higher rate. In addition, OPAT has been shown to be safe and effective for a wide range of infectious diseases (ID), including skin and soft tissue infections (cellulitis, osteomyelitis, and septic arthritis), bacteremia, endocarditis, pyelonephritis, meningitis, brain abscess, and intraabdominal infections. [1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11] In 2004, the Infectious Diseases Society of America (IDSA) published guidelines outlining the safe and effective practice of OPAT, with specific recommendations addressing (1) appropriate patient evaluation and selection, (2) essential elements of an OPAT program, (3) roles and re...
