Outpatient Parenteral Antibiotic Therapy (OPAT)

The OPAT program at the UPMC Center for Care of Infectious Diseases cares for patients discharged to a home, or nursing facility on a course of intravenous (IV) antibiotics.

OPAT programs can help manage many types of infections, such as:

• Heart infections (endocarditis).
• Bone infections (osteomyelitis).
• Skin and soft tissue infections.
• Brain (CNS) infections.
• Intraabdominal infections
• Lung infections
• Bloodstream infections

The goals of our program are to:

• Provide expert care to patients on IV antibiotics.
• Manage side effects and infections.
• Reduce the need for hospital readmissions.

Patient Care in the OPAT Management Program

The OPAT program patient care team includes infectious disease doctors, nurses, and on-site pharmacists.

• Providers work with IV antibiotics patients to design a complete and personalized treatment plan.
• Nurses take blood work and help patients with their medication.
• Pharmacists work with provicers to monitor the IV antibiotic treatment.

The type of antibiotic and the length of treatment vary based on each person's condition. Most patients receive their IV antibiotic treatment through a central IV catheter such as a PICC line or port.

The OPAT management team also keeps other treating physicians informed of the patient's progress during treatment.

Learn More About the OPAT Program

For more information on the OPAT management program, call 412-647-7228.

OPAT has program locations are at:

• UPMC Presbyterian
• UPMC Montefiore
• Magee Women’s Hospital of UPMC

We also offer telemedicine through home visits, at nursing facilities and at the telemedicine centers at UPMC Northwest and the UPMC outpatient center at Westgate Plaza in New Castle. 

Our Experts

• Karin Byers, MD
• Carolyn Fernandes, MD
• Christiane Hadi, MD
• Sui Kwong Li, MD
• Penelope Schwartz, PA-C
• Neel Shah, MD
• Kathleen Sheridan, DO
• Alex Viehman, MD
• Joshua Wingfield, CRNP