Hospital Discharge and Outpatient Parenteral Antibiotic Therapy | TreatmentTrends | US | 2014
Outpatient parenteral antimicrobial therapy (OPAT) has become a wide-spread practice in the United States. The growth of the OPAT market has been driven by its potential to reduce healthcare costs, improve conven-ience for patients and decrease the risk of complications due to hospitalization. Patients with infections requiring often prolonged treatment with intravenous antibiotics and having a relatively low risk of developing fulmi-nant disease are the best candidates for receiving OPAT.
This report provides insight into the management of hospitalized antibiotic-treated patients after discharge and in the outpatient setting, with an emphasis on OPAT treatment. Through market research with infectious diseases specialists, the report analyzes the post-hospital antibiotic prescribing practices for the treatment of key infections due to emerging and clinically-important pathogens, including MRSA, and identifies factors that drive and constrain physician prescribing of key OPAT therapies. The report will also explore the impact of the emerging long-acting glycolipopeptides on OPAT treatment and hospitalization decisions.