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Volume 10, Number 4—April 2004
Perspective

Economics of Preventing Hospital Infection

Nicholas Graves*Comments to Author 
Author affiliation: *Centre for Health Research and Public Health, Queensland University of Technology, Kelvin Grove, Brisbane, Australia

Main Article

Figure 2

A model of cost, effectiveness, and benefits of six competing infection-control strategies.

Figure 2. A model of cost, effectiveness, and benefits of six competing infection-control strategies.

Main Article

1Care should be taken in interpreting this estimate, as it was derived from data gathered in the mid-1970s for the Study on the Efficacy of Nosocomial Infection Control (SENIC).

2At rates of 10% the fixed costs of the organization were managing to treat 50,000 patients, but at zero rates of infection they are treating 52,500 patients, representing an improvement in efficiency. See Appendix 1.

3Reductions would be in expenditures on antimicrobials to treat the infection and on the equipment used to deliver therapy. Expenditures on resources used for wound care such as dressings, irrigations, and other consumables would be reduced. Also, workload of the nursing staff may be reduced, so expenditures on agency nurses would be less.

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The conclusions, findings, and opinions expressed by authors contributing to this journal do not necessarily reflect the official position of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, the Public Health Service, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, or the authors' affiliated institutions. Use of trade names is for identification only and does not imply endorsement by any of the groups named above.
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