The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is highlighting a series of new and ongoing initiatives to combat antibiotic resistance this week, officially designated “Get Smart About Antibiotics Week” by President Barack Obama.
The CDC estimates that 2 million Americans are infected with an antibiotic-resistant bacteria annually and that 23,000 of those patients die. The agency has made combating antibiotic resistance a top priority.
“Antibiotic resistance is one of the deadliest health threats facing the world,” CDC Director Tom Frieden said in a statement. “These pledges will help protect the antibiotics we have so we can use these miracle drugs to save lives for years to come.”
The CDC is tracking antibiotic use and the spread of antibiotic-resistant infections in the United States and exploring new ways to stop the rise of antibiotic resistance. The agency is using data to identify hotspots in need of attention, and the CDC-run isolate bank assists industry in developing new antibiotics and rapid diagnostic tests, contributing to the global effort to combat antibiotic resistance.
The CDC is highlighting a number of projects this week to promote antibiotic stewardship:
Ascension Health launches stewardship initiative: Ascension, the largest nonprofit health system in the United States, is creating stewardship programs throughout its care sites. A new center of excellence will focus on antimicrobial stewardship efforts system-wide.
Hospital Corporation of America: HCA joined with the CDC to track antibiotic prescriptions in HCA facilities by automatically collecting and reporting monthly antibiotic-use data using CDC’s National Healthcare Safety Network. Data can be analyzed and fed back to caregivers to guide patient-care decisions.
Premier Safety Institute: First launch of a collaborative of more than 50 hospitals working to implement CDC Core Elements of an Antibiotic Stewardship Programs as well as reducing the overuse of specific antimicrobials that were identified in research conducted by Premier and in collaboration with the CDC.
Walmart public service announcement (PSA) on appropriate antibiotic use: Walmart created educational videos for checkout lines across the country so that customers get clear information on antibiotic resistance and what they can do to improve antibiotic use.
Major airlines run in-flight PSA: State health departments are partnering to improve educational awareness about antibiotic stewardship. An in-flight PSA about antibiotic stewardship, produced by the Michigan Antibiotic Resistance Reduction (MARR) Coalition, is now featured on Jet Blue and other airlines.
Pew Charitable Trust briefing on Capitol Hill: A Pew coalition of “Supermoms against superbugs” will join the Pew Charitable Trust and CDC director Dr. Frieden at a Capitol Hill briefing on Nov. 18, 2015. Pew also is partnering with the CDC to establish national targets to improve the use of antibiotics in support of the goals outlined in the National Action Plan on Combating Antibiotic-Resistant Bacteria.
Consumer Reports: The CDC is partnering with Consumer Reports and the American Board of Internal Medicine Foundation in support of the Choosing Wisely campaign.
U.S. State Department toolkit: The State Department is piloting a toolkit for use by 10 U.S. embassies with a focus on improving antibiotic use.
Society for Hospital Medicine’s educational campaign for hospitalists: The society’s antibiotic stewardship campaign targets hospitalists – an important group for improving antibiotic use.
Global Twitter chat: Hosted by the European Union’s Antibiotic Awareness Day (Nov. 18, 2015), the 24-hour chat will use the hashtag #antibioticresistance and unite CDC experts and partners in a global conversation about antibiotic resistance. CDC experts will lead the conversation from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. ET.
The latest U.S. antibiotic prescribing rate map: Although overuse of antibiotics is happening in every state across the country, community antibiotic prescribing rates in some states are two times greater than in other states, suggesting opportunities for improvement.
U.S. hospital stewardship programs map: The percentage of hospitals reported by states as having antibiotic stewardship programs that follow all seven of CDC Core Elements of Antibiotic Stewardship Programs varies from state to state from a low of 7% to a high of 58%. The national goal is for 100% of all U.S. hospitals to have antibiotic stewardship programs by 2020.
On Twitter @richpizzi