UMC Health System - Physician Notes

ANTIBIOTICS ARE AMONG the most commonly prescribed drugs in modern medicine. For decades, we've used them to successfully treat bacterial infections that were once considered lethal. Unfortunately, antibiotics have been shown to have an Achilles' heel: success. e medical community has heavily relied on antibiotics since their development in the 1940s. e Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimates that more than half of all hospital patients receive an antibiotic. However, antibiotics have been used so heavily that bacteria have adapted to them, making the drugs less effective. e CDC estimates that these antimicrobial-resistant bacteria cause 2million illnesses and 23,000 deaths in the United States eachyear. "Antibiotics are a limited resource and bacteria have begun to outsmart our current antibiotic arsenal," said Kristen Fuhrmann,Pharm.D., BCPS-AQ ID, AAHIVP, antimicrobial stewardship/infectious diseases pharmacist at UMC Health Center. "By administering antibiotics only when absolutely necessary, we can limit exposure to bacteria and reduce the emergence and spread of resistantbacteria." A PRESCRIPTION PROBLEM According to the CDC, as many as 50percent of antibiotics are not optimally prescribed, either because they're not needed, dosed incorrectly or prescribed for the wrongduration. "It's crucial that we reserve antibiotics for times when they are absolutely needed," Fuhrmann said. "Antibiotics are not benign agents, and we want to minimize exposure if possible." In order to accomplish this, UMC implemented its own Antimicrobial Stewardship Program (ASP) in 2013. e program has five major goals: + Achieve optimal clinical outcomes + Minimize toxicity and adverse events + Limit the selection for antimicrobial-resistant strains + Improve quality of care and patient outcomes + Reduce antimicrobial-associated costs "e purpose of ASP is to reinforce the global effort to preserve antibiotic resources for future generations and optimize antimicrobial therapy in the inpatient setting," Fuhrmann said. "By spreading awareness, we hope to improve local treatment patterns over the next few years." SAVING IT TAKES A TEAM Limiting the spread of antibiotic-resistant bacteria isn't easy. That's why UMC Health System has created an Antibiotic Stewardship Program (ASP) core team to help lead the way. This team consists of an infectious-disease- trained physician, infectious-disease-trained pharmacist, microbiologist, infection prevention and control nurse, clinical informaticist, and multiple clinical staff members. "Our goal as a team for 2018 is to reduce hospital-acquired infections and to be recognized nationally by attaining the IDSA Antimicrobial Stewardship Centers of Excellence designation," said Kristen Fuhrmann, antimicrobial stewardship/ infectious disease pharmacist at UMC Health Center. "With our team, I think that we're well on our way to meeting these goals." ANTIBIOTICS ANTIMICROBIAL RESISTANCE IS OUTPACING ANTIBIOTIC DEVELOPMENTˆ— A PROBLEM A NEW PROGRAM SEEKS TOˆADDRESS. 6 PHYSICIAN NOTES /// WINTER 2018

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