Recently, the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) announced a new funded program, the AHRQ Safety Program for Telemedicine: Improving Antibiotic Use. This 18-month program will work with healthcare practices across the country to improve appropriate antibiotic use for patients who receive some or all of their care over telemedicine.
Practices participating in a prior similar AHRQ-funded program saw a 9% decrease in antibiotic prescribing overall and a 15% decrease in prescribing for acute respiratory infection. The program is currently recruiting primary care practices, community health centers, specialty practices providing primary care (e.g., OB/GYN) and urgent care clinics. There is no cost to participate. Through brief (~20 minute) educational presentations and support from experts from Johns Hopkins Medicine, participants will learn best practices in antibiotic use in the telemedicine environment.
By participating, practices can:
- Make it easier and more efficient for providers to order the right prescription, using approaches such as scripting for live and patient portal conversations
- Learn updated best practices for antibiotic use in telemedicine
- Perform better on antibiotic-related quality measures like the Healthcare Effectiveness Data and Information Set (HEDIS) and Merit-based Incentive Payment System (MIPS)
- Earn CMEs, CEUs, and ABIM MOC points
If you think this program may be of interest to your organization and/or providers within your network, please spread the word within. Carly Parry, vice president of health sciences at NORC at the University of Chicago is also available to set up a call to discuss the program further and answer any questions you may have. Parry may be reached at parry-carly@norc.org
NORC at the University of Chicago, previously the National Opinion Research Center, is an independent social research organization in the United States. Established in 1941, its corporate headquarters is located in downtown Chicago, with offices in several other locations throughout the United States.