Florea NR, Kuti JL, Nightingale CH, Dicolau DP. "Prevalence and Characteristics of Intravenous to Oral Conversion Programs in the United States." Hospital Pharmacy 39.11 (2004): 1069-1075. ( 1/2004 )
Purpose: Despite the documented success of anti-infective intravenous to oral conversion programs, it is still unclear what the current standard of practice is in the United States. A survey was conducted to evaluate the prevalence and characteristics of conversion programs throughout the U.S.
Methods: A questionnaire was mailed to 890 randomly chosen hospital pharmacy directors. A preset cutoff date of 4 weeks from the initial mailing was utilized for responses and a second mailing was sent to those directors that did not respond initially.
Results: A total of 237 (27%) institutions responded. Of these, 74% had conversion programs instituted. More programs required prior physician notification compared with allowing pharmacists to proactively transition candidates (70% versus 30%, p