Unnecessary urine culture testing is a major issue. Urine test stewardship is en vogue, as I have previously blogged. This paper, recently published in Clinical Infectious Diseases, reports the impact of unnecessary urine cultures on something that is highly relevant to the hospital C suite: length of stay.
Unnecessary urine culture testing results in increased length of stay, likely secondary to excessive treatment. Increase length of stay negatively impacts patient throughput. In a volume driven healthcare system, this is what most resonates with administration.
While attempting to change the culture of urine over testing, make sure to emphasize the impact on length of stay and patient throughput if you seek executive sponsorship and prioritization.
