Outpatient Parenteral Antimicrobial Therapy

We have witnessed major shifts in the delivery of health care from the hospital to community settings during the past decades, in part, due to technological improvements, medical cultural changes, cost-containment efforts and patient preferences. Central to this changing environment has been the development of outpatient parenteral antimicrobial therapy (OPAT) clinics and services. A wide range of OPAT treatment models have been adopted in many jurisdictions worldwide, and these have been shown to be safe and highly cost saving compared with inpatient management (1-10). In many regions, OPAT has become a significant part of the job description of adult infectious diseases specialists. Extensive reviews of OPAT program development and requirements have been published (11-13). In the present note, we briefly review the development, potential benefits and challenges associated with OPAT, and focus on contemporary issues relevant to adult infectious diseases specialists.