Antimicrobial Stewardship

Antimicrobial Stewardship

This actionable evidence-based practice blueprint provides a checklist for clinicians to create an action plan to improve antimicrobial stewardship and ensure best patient care. This document is revised as needed to incorporate the latest best practices and gold standard of care. The e-book is available free of charge to anyone. © 2022 Patient Safety Movement Foundation.

Contributors:

PSMF Team PSMF Team

The Challenge

Studies show 30% of antibiotic prescriptions (47 million) per year in the US alone are unnecessary and directly contribute to antibiotic resistance, resulting in approximately 700,000 deaths. Experts estimate that by 2050 antibiotic resistance-related deaths will exceed 10 million globally, at a financial cost of $100 trillion. Antimicrobials are the only medicines where use in one patient can affect how well that medicine works in another patient. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services and the Joint Commission now require facilities to have a formal Antimicrobial Stewardship Program in place to promote appropriate and judicious use of antimicrobials as a key part of patient safety. This blueprint outlines the actionable steps healthcare organizations should take to successfully improve antimicrobial use and summarizes the available evidence-based practice protocols.