FierceHealthcare recently reported on three key strategies to overcome challenges that hospitals face when implementing Antimicrobial Stewardship Programs (ASPs), according to a new study published in the Joint Commission Journal on Quality and Patient Safety.
“As hospitals work quickly to implement and expand stewardship programs, it will be increasingly important to identify promising approaches and key barriers,” said Arjun Srinivasan, M.D., associate director for health care associated infection prevention programs at the Centers for Diseases Control and Prevention. “ASPs are growing up, and the key now is to ensure that their growth is sustained and productive.”
Three trends identified in the study include:
- Recent effective approaches engage pharmacists and clinicians. This trend has moved away from a top-down approach instead to focus on engaging frontline staff
- Information technology has become crucial to success. These systems allow real-time data sharing and monitoring
- Interoperability barriers continue to be a threat, which can limit the effectiveness of Information Technology in antibiotic stewardship
Great Plains Quality Innovation Network has professionals working in our region to assist practitioners, pharmacists and health systems in the implementation of coordinated interventions designed to improve and measure the appropriate use of antibiotics by promoting the selection of the optimal drug regimen, dose, duration of therapy and route of administration. Visit our website to learn more.