OUR SOLUTIONS
Modern hospitals are besieged by infectious diseases classified as “Super Bugs”. These infectious agents create patient safety problems and expenses so great that the federal government recently initiated reduction of reimbursement for certain infection classifications. These infections, more commonly referred to as “Hospital Acquired” or “Nosocomial” infections have become so prevalent that the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) is now placing the hospital at risk for non-payment if these infections are determined to be acquired during a hospital stay.
Pathogens such as MRSA, Acinetobacter, Enterococcus, C-Diff, Pseudomonas, Klebsiella and others are not only the main organisms that cause infections in hospitals, they are often highly drug resistant as well. The overuse of antibiotics is the major reason for this highly drug resistant environment, and without a new diagnostic approach to pathogen identification and associated drug resistance, the problem will get worse.
Major areas of concern for hospitals are:
- patients being admitted for surgery
- post surgical wounds
- septicemia
- pneumonia
- nursing home patient transfers with wounds
- emergency departments
Often these patient groups are treated empirically; the improper use of antibiotics creates an environment of highly drug resistant pathogens. Current culture techniques become ineffective when antibiotics are administered leading to a high probability that the physician’s diagnosis will not be confirmed by laboratory tests. This is the current status within hospitals, and it is affecting reimbursement through the DRG, most often for complex pneumonias.
DIATHERIX, through its Tem-PCR technology, provides molecular differential diagnostic panels for MRSA, Respiratory Infections and Healthcare Associated Infections (HAI). Our lab has the solution for hospital infection problems. Hospitals using our MRSA screening protocol can now identify patients with MRSA prior to admission for surgery. Revenue preservation can be achieved by treating the patient prior to admission for surgery thereby reducing the risk of conversion from colonization to active/acute infection following surgery. In addition, this rapid testing technology allows physicians the capability to notify CMS should a patient require surgery and test positive prior to admission.
Treatment for pneumonia, especially those classified as complex pneumonia, is a major cost for hospitals. Using our Respiratory and HAI panels hospitals can identify not only the primary pathogen but also any co-infection, referred to as a complex DRG. The hospital benefits because Tem-PCR can confirm the physician’s diagnosis using molecular differential diagnostic testing resulting in proper coding for complex pneumonias under the most accurate DRG.
The HAI panel is effective for identification of very complex pathogens, both from patients in the hospital or within the hospital environment. Hospitals can now accurately identify infectious pathogens in vivo as well as in vitro. Further, this panel is designed for multiple uses as stated above but is also effective in complex pneumonia, wounds and other body fluids that may contain infectious pathogens.
Our panel designs have been created from information obtained from physicians, hospitals and the reimbursement system in order to provide a complete solution which includes proper coding and diagnostic confirmation of complex infectious diseases. It is well known that early identification of pathogens, followed by proper treatment protocol can not only deliver better patient outcome, but also lower length of stay.