Quality Improvement

Starting Jan. 1, 2020, ambulatory health care organizations accredited by the Joint Commission that regularly prescribe antimicrobial agents will be required to abide by newly established antimicrobial stewardship requirements. The framework from the Joint Commission establishes five elements of performance that address antimicrobial stewardship in these types of settings. The first recommends the identification of an antimicrobial stewardship leader.

Findings from a systemic review showed a consistent underestimation of the incidence of central line-associated bloodstream infections, or CLABSIs, within publicly reported rates, “weakening the validity and reliability of surveillance measures,” researchers wrote.

Researchers customized a Pennsylvania hospital’s electronic medical record to automate antimicrobial stewardship documentation and found that the tweak increased the number of charts that could be reviewed and was associated with a decrease in antimicrobial use, drug resistance and Clostridioides difficile infections.