For 11 cases, ventilator adjustments were made subsequently during transport, and for six patients, point-of-care testing, if in place, would have been used to optimize transport care. From this study, the cost of point-of-care equipment could be recouped in 101 patients if aircraft charges apply or 192 patients if no aircraft costs are involved. Cost-saving on technician callback (1,530 dollars), paramedic overtime (690 dollars) and aircraft time waiting charges (2,000 dollars) would have totaled (4,220 dollars). An iSTAT cartridge cost of 420 dollars would not have been different from laboratory costs. Total time waiting to obtain laboratory gases was 526 minutes compared with a calculated 105 minutes using point-of-care testing. For 12 (34%) patients, there was a wait for the sample to be drawn, and for 23 (66%), there was a wait for results to become available. Laboratory technicians were called in for 17 (49%). A blood gas analysis was ordered on 35 patients. The cost-efficacy of point-of-care testing was calculated based on: (1) Three minutes for a transport team member to draw a sample and obtain a result using the iSTAT (unit cost 8,000 CDN dollars) (2) Lab technician call-back (minimum two hours at 90 dollars) (3) Paramedic overtime (by the minute at 49 dollars/hour) and (4) Cost of charter aircraft wait time (200 dollars per hour) for every hour beyond four hours.ĭata were collected on 46 ventilated patients over a three month period. The following data were collected prospectively: (1) When a blood gas analysis was ordered (2) If it was necessary to call in a technician (3) Waiting time for blood to be drawn and (4) Waiting time for results. This study was conducted to determine whether point-of-care testing, using the iSTAT Portable Clinical Analyzer, would reduce time at the referring hospital required to stabilize ventilated pediatric patients prior to interfacility, air-medical transport.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |