Last year when the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) announced proposed revisions to the requirements of participation for nursing homes, the agency placed significant emphasis on improving infection control in nursing centers.  The proposed rule called for the establishment of antibiotic stewardship programs (ASP).

Although CMS has yet to finalize the rule, which may be released this fall, VHCA-VCAL wanted to share information with you on best practices for antibiotic stewardship programs.

The Infectious Diseases Society of America (IDSA) and the Society for Healthcare Epidemiology of America (SHEA) recently published evidence-based guidelines for the implementation of ASPs.

The goal of an ASP is to utilize interventions that help improve and measure the use of antibiotics. The benefits of an ASP are improved patient outcomes with reduced adverse effects, such as Clostridium difficile infection (CDI), and improved rates of antibiotic susceptibility to targeted antibiotics.

The report suggests that ASPs should be led by infectious disease physicians that have stewardship-specific training.  The recommendations for ASPs focus on interventions for targeting specific infectious diseases, measurement to quantify the impact of ASPs and interventions, and developing clinical practice guidelines surrounding antibiotic prescriptions.

Antibiotic stewardship is becoming increasingly important in combating drug resistant diseases. These guidelines from IDSA and SHEA for developing antibiotic stewardship programs present positive steps toward prevention.