An Illinois-based pharmacy group is leading the charge for an antimicrobial therapy timeout initiative, in response to a joint commission mandate.
The Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention issued the mandate requiring all hospitals to have antimicrobial stewardship program in place. As a result, Northwestern Medicine hospitals has designed an initiative aimed at improving antibiotic use and to combat against antibiotic resistance in the United States.
The group used a six-month study to test pharmacist recommendations to physicians about patient treatments. About 97 percent of physicians who were part of the study agreed with pharmacists intervention in medical treatment, with the majority of pharmacists suggesting alternatives to intravenous medicines.
“It showed us that the stewardship program efforts are being accepted by the physicians, and they are for the most part on board with our goals,” Radhika Polisetty, clinical and infectious disease pharmacist at Central DuPage Hospital, said.
Illinois pharmacy group takes charge of antimicrobial timeout initiative
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