Nationally, studies have shown that up to 50 percent of antibiotic use is inappropriate. Improved stewardship efforts are critical to ensuring that the right drug, if any, is used at the right time and in the right way.
Antibiotic resistance and the need to control multidrug-resistant organisms, particularly in health care settings, are among the major issues confronting health care providers today. With studies showing that up to 50 percent of antibiotic use is inappropriate, antibiotic stewardship was made a top federal priority with the Obama administration’s announcement of a National Action Plan on the issue in March 2015.
Building on the success of its earlier patient safety and quality improvement work, United Hospital Fund has created, both independently and in partnership with the Greater New York Hospital Association, major initiatives aimed at combating the rise of antibiotic-resistant organisms in greater New York-area health care systems.
Recently completed initiatives:
- Antibiotic Stewardship Certificate Program, focusing initially on the inpatient hospital setting and then moving to the nursing home setting.
- Outpatient Antibiotic Stewardship Initiative, focusing on prescribing practices in hospital-owned physician practices.
The Milstein Toolkit features a patient survey, translated into six languages, that can be used to assess patient knowledge of antibiotic resistance and proper antibiotic use. Also included in the toolkit are helpful hints for using the various assessment tools.