Patient-specific costs under each alternative included those relating directly to patient care and overheads for lighting, water, administration, etc. It was unclear if capital elements were included or costs discounted. The costs of home therapy excluded those of the nurse coordinator and the Infectious Disease Service but included elements for antibiotics (including all hospital pharmacy and laboratory costs), consumables and district nursing (DN) visits. The cost of a DN home visit included: initial assessment; first 30 minutes of visit; and each subsequent 10 minute period. Consumables (needles, syringes, dressings, etc.) for each day of intravenous therapy were also included. The costs of continued inpatient therapy at Monash Medical Centre were estimated for patients who actually received home care, by multiplying the number of days of home therapy by the cost of inpatient ward care incurred at Monash Medical Centre immediately before discharge. Daily ward costs comprised costs for basic nursing care, routine ward expenses, catering and pharmacy. The costs of surgical procedures, investigations, imaging, physicians' time and care in specialist units were excluded. The projected costs of inpatient care for Austin Hospital patients were estimated by calculating the daily cost of medically comparable patients (as identified by ICD-9-CM code and the diagnosis-related groups used at Monash Medical Centre).