The Joint Commission Releases Standards on Antibiotic Stewardship
October 14th, 2016
Antibiotics, when used as indicated, can save lives in the hospital setting. However, antibiotic misuse and overuse are contributing to the problem of antibiotic-resistant infections and serious side effects such as Clostridium difficile. Hospitals that have antibiotic stewardship programs and follow guidelines in resources such as the CMS infection control worksheet can reduce unnecessary antibiotic usage and side effects.
To further the cause of antibiotic stewardship, The Joint Commission has released a set of draft standards in the December issue of its Perspectives newsletter. The standards would apply to all hospitals, nursing care centers, and office-based surgery practices. The standards can be found in The Joint Commission Perspectives, December 2015, Volume 35, Number 12, at http://www.jcrinc.com/the-joint-commission-perspectives/.
Other antibiotic stewardship resources include the following:
- The Joint Commission also has a free antibiotic stewardship toolkit at http://www.jcrinc.com/antimicrobial-stewardship-toolkit/.
- The American Hospital Association toolkit is located at http://www.ahaphysicianforum.org/resources/appropriate-use/antimicrobial/ASP-Toolkit-v3.pdf.
- The CDC’s core elements for antibiotic stewardship programs for long-term care facilities can be found at http://www.cdc.gov/longtermcare/prevention/antibiotic-stewardship.html.
- The CDC’s core elements of hospital antibiotic stewardship programs can be found at http://www.cdc.gov/getsmart/healthcare/implementation/core-elements.html, and the checklist at http://www.cdc.gov/getsmart/healthcare/pdfs/checklist.pdf.
