In most hospital wards, nurses make the parenteral nutrition (TPN) preparations for patients. In April 1997, pharmacists at Yame General Hospital, started making aseptic TPN preparations in internal medicine wards to further improve pharmaceutical care. In August 2002, this service was expanded to include all wards and the average monthly number of aseptic TPN preparations increased to 818. When we conducted a cost-benefit analysis on the aseptic TPN preparations made by pharmacists, it was found that the return on investment [ROI= (benefit-cost) /cost] was initially-18%. Through the analysis, we pinpointed variable factors affecting materials costs and other expenses arising in the making of aseptic TPN preparations and by managing such costs were able to increase ROI markedly to 39%. Our detailed analysis of costs thus enabled the making of aseptic TPN preparations by pharmacists to make a significant contribution to our hospital, and they also improved the quality of life of patients. It may also be useful to apply cost-benefit analysis to the evaluation of other clinical pharmaceutical services such as TDM and pain management.
