Hospitalist to home: outpatient parenteral antimicrobial therapy at an academic center.

The cost of health care in the United States continues to increase as an aging population places increasing demands on institutions providing health care. Moreover, despite increases in the complexity and cost of health care, reimbursement for some services has been reduced or denied. Thus, the current challenge at many hospitals throughout the United States is to deliver high-quality health care while maximizing resource use and reducing costs without compromising clinical outcomes. We describe an answer to the challenge that combines 2 emerging treatment models in an academic setting: hospital-based physicians and outpatient parenteral antimicrobial therapy.