Respiratory Institute Outcomes

Community-based parenteral antimicrobial therapy (CoPAT) is the administration of intravenous antibiotic therapy outside the hospital setting. During the past 40 years this has become a widely accepted form of therapy, and about 1 out of 1000 Americans receive it every year. CoPAT has allowed for shorter hospitalizations, resulting in lower costs of healthcare, and has even prevented hospitalization in some cases.

Cleveland Clinic has had a CoPAT program since 1979. All patients hospitalized at Cleveland Clinic require evaluation by an infectious disease staff physician before they can be discharged on CoPAT. The same staff physician follows each patient for the duration of his or her CoPAT. This practice serves an antimicrobial stewardship function at the time of transition of care from the inpatient setting to the community, and it provides continuity of care from the inpatient to the outpatient setting with appropriate follow-up when needed.