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BIBTEX RIS

Targeting malnutrition: Nutrition programs yield cost savings for hospitalized patients

2019; Elsevier BV; Volume: 39; Issue: 9 Linguagem: Inglês

10.1016/j.clnu.2019.12.025

1532-1983

Giancarlo Buitrago, Juan Vargas, Suela Sulo, Jamie Partridge, Hedda Michelle Guevara-Nieto, Gabriel Gómez, Juan Diego Misas, María Isabel Toulson Davisson Correia,

Clinical Nutrition and Gastroenterology

Background & aims Between 30 and 50% of Colombian patients are malnourished or at-risk of malnutrition on hospital admission. Malnutrition is associated with poor outcomes and increased costs. We used cost modeling to estimate savings that could be derived from implementation of a nutrition therapy program for patients at malnutrition risk. Methods The budget impact analysis was performed using previously-published outcomes data. Outcomes included length of stay, 30-day readmissions, and infectious/non-infectious complications. We developed a Markov model that compared patients who were assigned to receive early nutrition therapy (started within 24–48 h of hospital admission) with those assigned to receive standard nutrition therapy (not started early). Our model used a 60-day time-horizon and estimated event probabilities based on published data. Results Average total costs over 60 days were $3770 US dollars for patients with delayed nutrition therapy vs $2419 for patients with early nutrition therapy—a savings of $1351 (35.8% decrease) per nutrition-treated patient. Cost differences between the groups were: $2703 vs $1600 for hospital-associated costs; $883 vs $665 for readmissions; and $176 vs $94 for complications. Taken broadly, the potential costs savings from a nutrition care program for an estimated 638,318 hospitalized Colombian patients at malnutrition risk is $862.6 million per year. Conclusions Our budget impact analysis demonstrated the potential for hospital-based nutrition care programs to improve health outcomes and reduce healthcare costs for hospitalized patients in Colombia. These findings provide a rationale for implementing comprehensive nutrition care in Colombian hospitals.