Antibiotic overuse and misuse is accelerating the development of antibiotic resistance and is increasingly becoming a patient safety issue. Given the limited innovation in the area of antibiotic development, the best strategy is to optimize the use the agents that are available. In practice, this means making sure that patients are only receiving antibiotics if necessary, receiving appropriate broad spectrum or targeted coverage tailored for their infections, and are being monitored regularly for de-escalation or discontinuation with culture results and clinical status in mind.
As of 2017, JCAHO required that an antibiotic stewardship program (ASP) be formed at every hospital which will also oversee all outpatient practices and clinics. In early 2017, our ASP committee was formed by Pharmacy and Infectious Disease and quickly grew to include Internal Medicine, Pulmonary, Intensivists, Surgery, Nursing, Infection Prevention, Microbiology & Laboratory, IT, Quality, Outpatient Practices, and Nursing Education. The committee aims to optimize infection treatment, improve patient safety and outcomes, and educate providers and patients.
Monday to Friday, Pharmacy and Infectious Disease meet daily to review patients on select broad spectrum antibiotics to review whether treatment is appropriate, even on patients not being seen by Infectious Disease. When necessary, a note will be added by the team on patients in the same way that physician notes are added. These notes are meant to help physicians with optimizing the antibiotics for their patient. Tigertexts may be sent to providers as well by ID physicians or designated pharmacists (Keri Garton, PharmD, and Ilya Maslov, PharmD).
In addition to daily evaluation of patients on antibiotics, Pharmacy and Infectious Disease have recognized that it is crucial to create an easy-to-use resource tailored for our institution where information like bug-specific tips, guidelines, and antibiograms can be posted regularly for anyone to use. This need led to the building of this website as our new clinical resource. As an aside, during the COVID-19 pandemic, this site has become a central resource for clinical guidelines.
The committee is continuing to develop new guidelines and content and will be increasing its monitoring of antibiotic use in the future to help providers and improve patient outcomes. If you have any questions about the committee or the new resource, feel free to contact the committee through this site, call, or Tigertext Keri Garton, PharmD (x5255) or Ilya Maslov, PharmD (x4569).
As of 2017, JCAHO required that an antibiotic stewardship program (ASP) be formed at every hospital which will also oversee all outpatient practices and clinics. In early 2017, our ASP committee was formed by Pharmacy and Infectious Disease and quickly grew to include Internal Medicine, Pulmonary, Intensivists, Surgery, Nursing, Infection Prevention, Microbiology & Laboratory, IT, Quality, Outpatient Practices, and Nursing Education. The committee aims to optimize infection treatment, improve patient safety and outcomes, and educate providers and patients.
Monday to Friday, Pharmacy and Infectious Disease meet daily to review patients on select broad spectrum antibiotics to review whether treatment is appropriate, even on patients not being seen by Infectious Disease. When necessary, a note will be added by the team on patients in the same way that physician notes are added. These notes are meant to help physicians with optimizing the antibiotics for their patient. Tigertexts may be sent to providers as well by ID physicians or designated pharmacists (Keri Garton, PharmD, and Ilya Maslov, PharmD).
In addition to daily evaluation of patients on antibiotics, Pharmacy and Infectious Disease have recognized that it is crucial to create an easy-to-use resource tailored for our institution where information like bug-specific tips, guidelines, and antibiograms can be posted regularly for anyone to use. This need led to the building of this website as our new clinical resource. As an aside, during the COVID-19 pandemic, this site has become a central resource for clinical guidelines.
The committee is continuing to develop new guidelines and content and will be increasing its monitoring of antibiotic use in the future to help providers and improve patient outcomes. If you have any questions about the committee or the new resource, feel free to contact the committee through this site, call, or Tigertext Keri Garton, PharmD (x5255) or Ilya Maslov, PharmD (x4569).