The idea of sending patients home with an intravenous (IV) catheter to infuse their own parenteral antibiotics or to travel regularly to an infusion suite was unheard of in the early 1970s. Such outpatient parenteral antimicrobial therapy (OPAT) is now the standard of care. The growth of OPAT programs reflects dramatic progress in clinical, pharmaceutical, and technological research, resulting in the development of new drugs and IV infusion devices, which facilitate the delivery of outpatient care and enhance patient satisfaction. The current emphasis by payors on value-based care and bundled payments has further driven the impetus to move patients out of high-cost inpatient beds for therapeutic interventions traditionally delivered in hospitals.
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opat_epub_finalv2