Monday, December 7, 2009
6:15 am – 7:45 am
Breakfast Symposium
Venetian Hotels & Sands Expo Center
Bellini Ballroom, Level 2

Overview

It is commonly known that hospitalization costs for patients in the intensive care unit (ICU) are significantly higher than for patients on general patient care units. Drug costs are also higher for ICU patients than non-intensive care unit patients. Pharmacoeconomic challenges continue to face health system pharmacists caring for patients especially in the ICU. In this symposium, highlights from the literature showcasing the importance of potential methods for analyzing drug therapy costs in ICU patients will be presented with a focus on sedation. Various factors that affect the optimization of therapy will be discussed as well as cost-effective strategies that pharmacists can utilize to manage ICU patients receiving intravenous sedation.

This educational activity will review best practices aimed at improving the management of intensive care patients receiving sedation treatment.

Learning Objectives

At the conclusion of this knowledge-based educational activity, participants should be able to

• Describe several methods of pharmacoeconomic analysis applicable to the intensive care unit (ICU).
• List at least three drivers of increased health care costs in the ICU.
• Summarize the existing pharmacoeconomic literature related to ICU sedation.
• Identify strategies that pharmacists can employ to optimize cost-effective therapy associated with ICU sedation.