Advertisement
This Article
Right arrow Full Text (PDF)
Right arrow Submit a response
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me when eLetters are posted
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Services
Right arrow Email this article to a friend
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Similar articles in PubMed
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Citing Articles
Right arrow Citing Articles via HighWire
Right arrow Citing Articles via Google Scholar
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Knoer, S.
Right arrow Articles by Folker, T
Right arrow Search for Related Content
PubMed
Right arrow PubMed Citation
Right arrow Articles by Knoer, S.
Right arrow Articles by Folker, T
Social Bookmarking
Add to CiteULike   Add to Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us   Add to Digg   Add to Facebook   Add to Reddit   Add to Technorati   Add to Twitter  
What's this?
American Journal of Health-System Pharmacy, Vol 56, Issue 11, 1102-1107
Copyright © 1999 by American Society of Health-System Pharmacists

Articles

Evaluating a benchmarking database and identifying cost reduction opportunities by diagnosis-related group

SJ Knoer, RJ Couldry, and T Folker


Pharmacy cost data from the University HealthSystem Consortium (UHC) Clinical Database for specific diagnosis-related groups (DRGs) were reviewed to assess their applicability to a university medical center and to identify opportunities to reduce costs. UHC headquarters was contacted by telephone to determine UHC's data collection methods. Pharmacy costs for DRG 302 (kidney transplant) at the University of Kansas Medical Center (KUMC) were compared with the costs shown in the UHC Clinical Database. Appropriate drug use for DRGs 302 and 480 (liver transplant) was assessed by contacting transplant pharmacists and pharmacy administrators at the five top-performing hospitals (in terms of cost per DRG) as listed in the UHC database to find opportunities for reducing pharmacy costs. KUMC's actual pharmacy costs for DRG 302 ($4635) were 46% lower than those listed in the UHC Clinical Database ($8546). There was a disparity between the amount of both intravenous immune globulin (IVIG) and lymphocyte immune globulin used by KUMC and the top-performing hospitals. Guidelines for use of IVIG, acyclovir, and azathioprine in liver transplant patients at KUMC were revised. A potential cost saving of $53,000 was identified in relation to the use of lymphocyte immune globulin in kidney transplant patients. Data in the UHC Clinical Database were not representative of pharmacy costs at a university medical center for DRG 302 (kidney transplant), overstating pharmacy costs by 46%; benchmarking was found to be a useful tool for identifying opportunities for reducing costs.
 

Add to CiteULike CiteULike   Add to Connotea Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us Del.icio.us   Add to Digg Digg   Add to Facebook Facebook   Add to Reddit Reddit   Add to Technorati Technorati   Add to Twitter Twitter    What's this?


This article has been cited by other articles:


Home page
 Am J Health Syst PharmHome page
S. S. Rough, M. McDaniel, and J. R. Rinehart
Effective use of workload and productivity monitoring tools in health-system pharmacy, part 1
Am. J. Health Syst. Pharm., February 15, 2010; 67(4): 300 - 311.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

Home page
 Am J Health Syst PharmHome page
D. Cousins
Current status of the monitoring of medication practice
Am. J. Health Syst. Pharm., March 1, 2009; 66(5_Supplement_3): s49 - s56.
[Full Text] [PDF]