Antibiotic Stewardship Toolkit
Appropriate use of antibiotics has a significant impact on the safety of patients nationwide. Overutilization and inappropriate selection of these drugs has led to stronger bacteria that are increasingly resistant to antibiotics.
The Antibiotic Stewardship Toolkit is a collection of sample policies and protocols, self-evaluation tools, measurement information and other resources for healthcare leaders to use in combatting the misuse of antibiotics. These resources aim to help you develop an effective antibiotic stewardship program in your organization.
Antibiotic Stewardship Initiatives & Programs
This collection of tools provides descriptions of what antibiotic stewardship means and how to develop an effective program. Information is also provided on how antibiotic stewardship can be incorporated into performance improvement initiatives to improve patient outcomes and reimbursement.
-
The Pharmacist’s Role and Responsibility in Antimicrobial Stewardship
The American Society of Health System Pharmacists recently released a statement giving guidance to pharmacists in understanding the key role they play in the Antibiotic Stewardship program. This statement outlines the Society’s stance on the pharmacist’s duty to effectively and responsibly prevent infection in patients.
While providing a background on the need for Antibiotic Stewardship, this downloadable document also outlines the individual responsibilities of pharmacists as it pertains to antibiotic moderation in instances of infection control.
-
Core Elements of Outpatient Antimicrobial Stewardship
The CDC guide to incorporating antibiotic stewardship best practices into the outpatient office practice setting. This information offers a framework for implementation based on the four core elements in the outpatient setting:
- Commitment
- Action
- Tracking & Reporting
- Education & Expertise
-
The Physician Champion in Performance Improvement
This resource provides you with an informational guide to help identify the perfect Physician Champion candidate for the project at hand. The guide is comprised of a two-page white sheet on desirable traits to look for in a good physician leader. In addition, the guide also discusses the expectations of the physician during a project and provides tips to make the physician successful in their project role.
Antibiotic Stewardship Performance Improvement Tools
Measurement of data is helpful in improving processes within an organization. These tools are helpful in providing some direction with the types of data that can be compiled and used for performance improvement with antibiotic usage.
-
Webinar: Practical Applications of the Antibiogram
This webinar will help you discover how the antibiogram can be a very useful tool in your Antibiotic Stewardship program. Antibiograms can be confusing and it can be difficult to figure out just how to incorporate them into your overall program. Join our speaker as she discusses how to interpret the antibiogram and use the information to improve the effectiveness of antibiotic use in your organization.
-
Practical Applications of the Antibiogram Presentation
Click to view the presentation slides used in the Practical Applications of the Antibiogram webinar.
-
Antibiotic Audit Report
Use this document to assist you with auditing individual patient records related to antibiotic stewardship. The document facilitates collection of all related information on one page.
Antibiotic Stewardship Educational Resources
It may be difficult for some staff members to understand their role in antibiotic stewardship. These resources can be used to educate staff members on how they can promote antibiotic stewardship through vigilence and patient education.
-
Patient Education Materials & Community Resources
A large part of antibiotic stewardship involves patient education. Patient education can be most effective when multiple types of materials are used. The CDC has a comprehensive set of printable materials and other resources such as:
- Videos
- Sample social media messages
- Webpage banners
These resources can be used to assist you in educating the community and declaring the commitment of the office practice in being good stewards in antibiotic use.
-
PowerPoint Education for Staff Training in Antibiotic Stewardship 1.0
This PowerPoint presentation was created for organizations to use when training general staff members about antibiotic stewardship. This is only a PowerPoint presentation with no voiceover and is set up for staff to be able to read through and understand. The information is directed at clinicians and provides a basic overview of the antibiotic resistance crisis, what resistance means in the real world and how general staff members can make an impact in reducing the problems associated with antibiotic misuse.
Sample Job Descriptions
A job description is a tool that describes, in plain language, the functions and responsibilities of a position. A great leadership idea for reinforcing a commitment to antibiotic stewardship is to add language into the job descriptions incorporating these responsibilities into activities for certain positions. These are a few good examples of language to use in job descriptions to support antibiotic stewardship as a priority at the facility.
-
Sample Job Description for Director of Pharmacy
Sample job description from Alameda Health System for Director of Pharmacy. This job description incorporates antibiotic stewardship responsibilities.
-
Sample Job Description for a Clinical Pharmacist
Sample job description from Duke University for a Clinical Pharmacist to manage the antibiotic stewardship program.
Antibiotic Stewardship Sample Policies
Below is a collection of sample policies and procedures that facility administrators may use to effectively implement the Antibiotic Stewardship Program within their clinic or hospital. The available policies cover a wide breadth of topics, including:
- Sepsis management protocols
- Renal dosing program guidelines
- Antibiotic Stewardship infection control policies and tools
-
Sample Antibiotic Stewardship Policy
A sample organization-wide antibiotic stewardship policy that includes measures of success.
-
Sample 2 Antibiotic Stewardship Policy
A sample organization-wide antibiotic stewardship policy that incorporates a Physician Champion.
-
Sample 3 Antibiotic Stewardship Policy
A sample organization-wide antibiotic stewardship policy.