New Antimicrobial Stewardship Standard from the Joint Commission--Johns Hopkins ABX Guide can help

The Joint Commission recently developed an antimicrobial stewardship standard as a result of increasing antibiotic resistant infections.

20%-50% of all antibiotics prescribed are unnecessary or inappropriate, as reported by the CDC, and the overuse of these antibiotics makes treating and preventing infections more difficult.

Under the new Antimicrobial Stewardship Standard, every hospital and critical access hospital will appoint a pharmacist and a physician to make decisions for their antimicrobial stewardship programs.

 

By January 1, 2017, hospitals and critical access hospitals will be required to:

• Implement policies and interventions to improve antibiotic use
• Support optimal antibiotic prescribing
• Document dose, duration, and indication
• Develop and implement facility-specific treatment recommendations

 

It is crucial that the hospitals are prepared for their Antimicrobial Stewardship Programs.

The Johns Hopkins ABX Guide is a resource that will assist the pharmacists and clinicians in obtaining the best information to create guidelines and prescribe safely.

The Johns Hopkins ABX Guide is also available as a mobile app. 

Information about how to download the mobile app is available from the following videos: Creating a uCentral Account on an iPhone or Creating a uCentral Account on an iPad