Antibiotic stewardship programmes--what's missing?
Open Access
- 16 September 2010
- journal article
- research article
- Published by Oxford University Press (OUP) in Journal of Antimicrobial Chemotherapy
- Vol. 65 (11), 2275-2277
- https://doi.org/10.1093/jac/dkq357
Abstract
Inappropriate antibiotic use and antibiotic resistance are now major global issues. Antimicrobial stewardship programmes are increasingly being used to optimize antibiotic prescribing in acute care. The central tenet of these programmes tends to be policy and guidelines aimed at prescribers. However, rules and guidelines alone may not be sufficient to bring about effective and sustainable optimization of practice. Best practice needs to be positively reinforced by an environment that facilitates and supports optimal prescribing choices, i.e. a ‘choice architecture’ that makes prudent antibiotic prescribing the path of least resistance. To make prudent antibiotic management an integral part of the behaviour of all healthcare professionals and to bring about quality improvement it is necessary to adopt a whole-system approach. To do this it is necessary first to understand the factors that influence antibiotic management and prescribing.Keywords
This publication has 16 references indexed in Scilit:
- Emergence of a new antibiotic resistance mechanism in India, Pakistan, and the UK: a molecular, biological, and epidemiological studyThe Lancet Infectious Diseases, 2010
- What are the drivers of the UK media coverage of meticillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, the inter-relationships and relative influences?Journal of Hospital Infection, 2009
- Uncomfortable prescribing decisions in hospitals: the impact of teamworkJournal of the Royal Society of Medicine, 2009
- The zeitgeist of resistanceJournal of Antimicrobial Chemotherapy, 2007
- Appendix 2 Specialist Advisory Committee on Antimicrobial Resistance (SACAR) Antimicrobial FrameworkJournal of Antimicrobial Chemotherapy, 2007
- Antibiotic pharmacists in the ascendancyJournal of Antimicrobial Chemotherapy, 2007
- Report of the Prescribing Subgroup of the Specialist Advisory Committee on Antimicrobial Resistance (SACAR)Journal of Antimicrobial Chemotherapy, 2007
- Successful use of feedback to improve antibiotic prescribing and reduce Clostridium difficile infection: a controlled interrupted time seriesJournal of Antimicrobial Chemotherapy, 2007
- Antimicrobial Stewardship Programs in Health Care SystemsClinical Microbiology Reviews, 2005
- Favorable Impact of a Multidisciplinary Antibiotic Management Program Conducted During 7 YearsInfection Control & Hospital Epidemiology, 2003