Initial experience with a central respiratory monitoring unit as a cost-saving alternative to the intensive care unit for Medicare patients who require long-term ventilator support.

The cost of delivering health care to Medicare patients in intensive care units (ICU), especially those on long-term ventilator support, has become a major financial burden to American hospitals. We established a central station, respiratory, noninvasive monitoring unit (NIMU) on a cardiac telemetry floor where nurse to patient ratio was 1:4 to 1:6 as a cost-effective alternative to the ICU which has a ratio of 1:2. During the first five months of operation, 55 patients were admitted to this unit, of which 11 were long-term ventilator Medicare patients. Seven of these 11 patients were successfully weaned and discharged from the hospital. Overall, a minimum of $21,724 was saved over five months by shifting these long-term ventilator patients from the ICU to the NIMU while quality of medical care remained or exceeded accepted standards. We conclude that alternative health care delivery systems such as the NIMU need to be investigated as safe, cost-reducing substitutes for selected ICU patients to prevent loss of quality medical care in the financial backlash of the present Medicare prospective payment schedule.