Journal of Hospital & Medical Management

Rationalising Routine Pathology Investigations in the Intensive Care Unit

Routine blood tests are costly and are ordered daily for patients in Intensive Care Units with no clear uniform guidelines in Australia. Junior Medical Officers (JMO) is routinely given this task of ordering daily blood tests, often without an understanding of the cost involved or of the significance of each test. This single centre, prospective, interventional study investigates the impact of having ICU specialists authorise routine daily blood tests in comparison to historical data where blood tests had been ordered by a JMO. Any adverse events in relation to not ordering blood tests were recorded. The number of patients admitted to the ICU, the median length of stay and Acute Physiology and Chronic Health Evaluation (APACHE) III scores were comparable during this time to historical data. The total number of tests decreased by 29% (P= 0.0001) and a decreased cost of 20% (P=0.0001). The ordering of routine blood tests by ICU specialists resulted in significant decrease in blood tests and monetary savings with no adverse outcomes to patients.

Author(s):

Matthew Awad

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