Economic impact of redundant antimicrobial therapy in US hospitals.

Background: Overutilization of antimicrobial therapy places patients at risk for harm and contributes to antimicrobial resistance and escalating healthcare costs. Focusing on redundant or duplicate antimicrobial therapy is 1 recommended strategy to reduce overutilization and its attendant effects on patient safety and hospital costs.

Objective: This study explored the incidence and economic impact of potentially redundant antimicrobial therapy.