Multidose eye drop approach approved by joint commission

(HealthDay)—A policy and procedural approach to the use of multidose eye drops has been approved by The Joint Commission and can reduce costs for patients and facilities, according to an article published in the December issue of JAMA Ophthalmology.

Michael K. Jensen, R.Ph., from the Utah Valley Regional Medical Center in Provo, and colleagues describe the development of a policy and procedural approach to the use of multidose eye drops in a health care setting. They petitioned The Joint Commission for approval and assessed the cost benefits of the implementation of a multidose process for eye drop administration.

The policy and procedural approach was approved by The Joint Commission and was implemented in April 2012. The researchers found that there were significant savings for both patients and facility. There was a decrease of as much as $283.85 for patients undergoing a single cataract operation and a $330.91 decrease in costs to the facility per cataract case.

"Our policy provides a safe and effective process for administering eye drop medications to patients as well as controlling excessive health care costs to both patients and health care facilities," the authors write.