The impact of an instant pregnancy test kit on the operations of a major hospital casualty department.

ABSTRACT

The records of all patients on whom a casualty department pregnancy test was performed during the first 4 months of 1986 were retrospectively examined and compared with the records of all patients who in the first 4 months of 1987 had had an instant pregnancy test performed in the same casualty department, to determine the impact of such a kit on diagnostic accuracy, operative procedures and related economic factors. It was demonstrated that instant pregnancy testing significantly improved the accuracy of provisional diagnoses and appeared to help in reducing the number of surgical procedures performed. Furthermore, it was shown that a combination of careful clinical assessment plus the appropriate application of an instant pregnancy test kit could result in a cost saving to the hospital of over $41,000 per annum.

ABSTRACT

PIP To assess the impact of an instant pregnancy test kit on hospital admissions for suspected ectopic pregnancy, the records of 100 patients from a Sydney, Australia hospital were examined. All records of patients of patients whom a pregnancy test was performed during 4 months of 1986 were compared with records of patients who had had an instant pregnancy test performed in the same hospital during 4 months of 1987. 2 test methods were used, the Tandem B HCG RIA which takes 2 hours, and the instant Test Pack HCG serum test kit, which takes 3 minutes. There was a 100% accuracy correlation between the 2 tests. Costs were compared on the basis of how many patients were admitted to the hospital who might not have required admission had a test result been available. Instant pregnancy testing significantly improved the accuracy of provisional diagnosis and seemed to contribute to a reduction in the number of surgical procedures performed. Calculations using the number of hospital admissions that would not have been made had a test result been available, revealed estimated savings of $41,000/per year to the hospital. It was concluded that the Test Pack was cheap, easy to use, provided instantaneous results, and resulted in significant savings in hospital operating costs.