On the economic impact of a regional management of multidrug-resistant bacteria

The increasing number of people who are colonized or infected with multidrug-resistant bacteria imposes a high economic burden on society which includes the negative impact on health status as an intangible cost. An economic analysis leads to the conclusion that currently too little is done to prevent or control infections. The reasons include insufficient incentives for health care providers, a lack of reliable data on both the prevalence and the effects of infection, and a lack of coordination among the different branches of the health care sector. A regional management of multidrugresistant bacteria which does not focus on a single branch but rather on the health care sector overall can achieve a substantial reduction in the number of infected people and of the associated economic cost for society.