Issue link: https://viewer.e-digitaledition.com/i/934743
7 CRHEALTHCARE.ORG More an a Hpital TAKING ON SUPERBUGS A DIVERSE TEAM OF PROVIDERS IS ADDRESSING THE PROBLEM OF ANTIBIOTIC RESISTANCE. Antibiotics are effective tools for treating bacterial infections, but overuse and misuse can undermine their potency and enable bacteria to evolve and become more dangerous and difficult to manage. "Improper antibiotic use can lead to bacteria that are resistant to a drug that would normally kill them," says Beth Owens, RPH, staff pharmacist and antibiotic steward at Columbus Regional Healthcare System. "When that happens, it can affect entire communities, not just individual patients." A TEAM EFFORT To prevent drug resistance by ensuring providers are efficient in their use of antibiotics, CRHS has developed an Antimicrobial Stewardship Program (ASP) committee, which includes physicians, pharmacists, nurses, laboratory staff, IT personnel and administrators. Together they have created protocols for combating common infections, such as pneumonia and staph, as well as for monitoring patients in order to use the most effective forms of treatment possible. "If, for instance, a patient has to be on a broad-spectrum antibiotic, which treats many bacteria, we review his or her lab cultures to see if we can switch to an antibiotic that treats a specific bacteria," Owens says. "We want every patient on antibiotics to receive the narrowest treatment for the minimum length of time that's necessary for the drugs to do their job." CRHS has also invested in advanced technologies to help the ASP committee, including a software program that can assist providers in monitoring patients who are using antibiotics, as well as a laboratory system that can identify specific types of bacteria within an hour and a half. "Antibiotic resistance is an important issue," Owens says. "We have to keep working to raise awareness and prevent it." To speak with a provider about how to best manage the use of antibiotics, visit crhealthcare.org/doctors/. Resisting the Resistance Here are three simple ways you can help keep the community safe from antibiotic resistance: 1. Listen to your provider. Although you might think an antibiotic will be the quickest fix for your illness, it is important to trust that your provider will prescribe the safest, most effective treatment. If you have a viral infection, for instance, an antibiotic will not help you, because antibiotics treat bacteria, not viruses. 2. Finish what you start. If your provider prescribes an antibiotic, be sure to finish the entire course, even if you start to feel better. If you stop taking the drug before it's gone, the bacteria might make you sick again— and could become resistant to the antibiotic. 3. To care, don't share. Keep your antibiotics to yourself, because your prescription might not be the appropriate treatment for someone else's infection.