Economic benefits of an effective infection control program: case study and proposal.

An economic model of the 981 nosocomial infections that occurred in 1985 at the University of Virginia Medical Center was developed. It was determined that $2,401,709 in excess charges and $2,111,753 in excess variable costs were saved in 1985 as a result of having an effective infection control program in place. If a nominal per diem patient fee ($5) were billed to each patient or third-party carrier for preventive services rendered by the infection control team and channeled to infection control for the 196,141 patient-days in 1985, income of $980,705 would have been generated, leaving net income of $812,979 after the deduction of infection control operating costs. In addition, patients, third-party payers, and the hospital would have still saved $1,421,004 in excess charges, or $1,131,048 in excess variable costs, in prevented infections. Infection control programs are extremely cost effective, and if preventive care is to be encouraged, financial incentives for value received for infection control services are needed.