Costs and benefits of an early-alert surveillance system for hospital inpatients

ABSTRACTBackground: The economic implications of inpatient adverse events and rising healthcare costs have intensified interest in patient safety and the efficient delivery of products and services with cost-saving potential. New technologies may help in this regard but must be evaluated economically as well as clinically and should demonstrate cost-benefit for consideration by payers and providers. One such technology – an automated early-alert system for patient distress – has been developed. Performance data suggest clinical worthiness and warrant economic evaluation of the system.Scope: A hospital-perspective analysis was conducted with cost modeling and retrospective data to estimate the economic consequences of deleterious clinical events and the impact of the early-alert system when deployed during routine medical–surgical admissions. The principal outcome was expected per-patient direct costs associated with inpatients falls and cardiopulmonary arrests. Reduction of these clinical events through i...