Nearly 128 hospitals, or a quarter of those in the state, said the law influenced them to start a stewardship program, Dr. Trivedi said. "Even though our legislation is very nonspecific, and does not even mention the words ‘stewardship program,’ it really did help the hospital administrations focus on these initiatives and allocate the funding for these programs."
The next step for the health department is to compile and release antimicrobial susceptibility data for 2008, 2009, and 2010, Dr. Trivedi said.
Dr. Trivedi and Dr. Flanders said they had no relevant financial disclosures.