Savings in Hospital Bed-Days Related to Treatment With Clozapine

Abstract

Based on hospital costs of $250 per patient per day, this reduction in bed-days could result in gross savings of about $33,000 per patient per year at 1.5 years, $41,500 per patient per year at two years, and $50,250 per patient per year at 2.5 years. Hospital patients are conspicuous targets for clozapine funding, since bed-days represent an easily measured expense. Nevertheless, community treatment should be an even higher priority, since most chronic mentally ill persons are outpatients.