The routine replacement of IV drips every three days in hospital wards is costly and clinically unnecessary, new data has found.

Research published in The Lancet last month has the potential to save the Australian economy millions of dollars each year and to overturn 40 years of accepted practice. Co-investigator, Professor Joan Webster from the Griffith Health Institute, said many intravenous catheters used each year could be safely changed only when clinically necessary. Introducing this policy in hospitals would not only prevent unnecessary painful procedures in one fifth of patients but also dramatically reduce equipment and staff costs. In the study, 3000 adult patients expected to require a catheter for longer...