Pharmacoeconomic impact of an alternative workflow process for stroke.

OBJECTIVE: The objective of this study was to evaluate a new multidisciplinary process in which intravenous alteplase (tPA) waste, used for acute ischemic stroke (AIS), was salvaged in an attempt to maximize cost effectiveness without impacting door-to-needle (DTN) administration times.

DESIGN: This was a retrospective cohort between May 2017 and February 2018. The primary endpoint evaluated for this study was the total tPA salvaged and total cost savings in U.S. dollars. Secondary endpoints evaluated included overall DTN time in minutes.

SETTING: Emergency department of a primary stroke center.

PATIENTS: A convenience sample of sequential adult (>18 years) patients who received tPA in the ED for AIS were included for analysis.

INTERVENTIONS: New stroke process which involved bedside mixing of tPA and salvaging of excess waste in the main central pharmacy.

MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS: A total of 50 patients were included in the final analysis. There were 25 patients included in the new process and old process groups respectively. A total of 605 mg of alteplase was salvaged from 25 patients in the new process group which was associated with an estimated cost savings of over $120,000 annually. Patients in the new process group had statistically faster average (52 min vs. 60 min; p = 0.01) and median (50 min vs. 58 min; p = 0.03) DTN administration times.

CONCLUSION: Preliminary data, in this pilot study, utilizing a multidisciplinary model for tPA administration led to significant cost savings of tPA and decreases in overall DTN administration times.