Project to reduce PICC complications is cost-effective

A quality improvement project to reduce peripherally inserted central catheter complications was cost-effective, according to a study highlighted in the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality Journal of Patient Safety. The Michigan Hospital Medicine Safety Consortium significantly decreased peripherally inserted central catheter complications over the seven-year project, and each participating hospital averaged $932,000 in savings. Across the 35 hospitals taking part in the study, central line bloodstream infections decreased from 2.1% to 1.5%, venous thromboses fell from 3.2% to 2.3% and catheter occlusions declined from 10.8% to 7.0%. The project cost $31.8 million to implement, but the savings from avoided complications were $64.4 million. (AHRQ Journal of Patient Safety article, 8/7/24)