St. Anthony Hospital – Chicago, Illinois
Antimicrobial stewardship programs (ASP) have been shown to reduce antimicrobial use, Clostridium difficile rates and cost. Centers for Disease Control core elements of ASP became Joint Commission standards in 2017. Data shows that more than 50 percent of inpatients receive at least one antimicrobial each admission, of which more than 30 to 40 percent of these are not necessary.
We implemented the core elements of an antimicrobial stewardship program (ASP) in a community hospital with non-infectious disease (ID) trained PharmDs using ID physician leadership. Clear guidelines and access to an ID physician can provide adequate support for PharmDs without ID-specific training. The results showed that prior to ASP training most PharmDs (75 percent) did not feel comfortable making antibiotic recommendations, yet found treatment guidelines helpful and felt more comfortable making recommendations (100 percent) at three months. Antibiotic use decreased and intravenous to oral antibiotic conversion increased post intervention. Antibiotic expenditures decreased by 11 percent after the intervention.
Spread Partner Criteria for St. Anthony:
Must Have:
- A pharmacist that can be the designated antibiotic stewardship pharmacist
- This pharmacist does not need to be a full time antibiotic steward, but will need at least 1 hour of protected time daily to review and provide feedback on antibiotic cases
- An ID clinician on staff that is willing to answer questions when needed by the pharmD
- Strong administrative/executive buy-in
- Interest in working with us to prove that this intervention works at your hospital
- This will require pre and post comparative data on antibiotic use and cost
- IT support in order to develop reports for daily antibiotic use and help us review pre-implementation and post-implementation antibiotic usage
Should Have:
- ID clinician will be needed, but level of involvement can vary deending on interest
- Similarly sized hospital (150-200 beds)
If you are interested in becoming a Spread Partner with St. Anthony, please complete the application below: