Abstract
A hospital implemented a clinical pathway and medication orderset to improve the management of community-acquired pneumonia (CAP), then participated in a national outcomes program to measure the results. Comparison with a benchmark database, CAP-Compare (EPI-Q, Inc.), confirmed the program's success. Average length of stay after implementation was 4.5 days — 0.5 days less than for benchmark institutions and published Medicare data. More than 95% of patients received an antibiotic in the emergency department and 72.8% received an antibiotic within 4 hours of admission. Patients were switched to oral therapy within 2 days. Antibiotic use was consistent throughout the continuum of care and included ceftriaxone and clarithromycin as first-line agents. The hospital demonstrated excellent clinical outcomes as measured by the national benchmark project.
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