A national forum to discuss responsible antibiotic use took place at the White House Tuesday, underscoring the importance of combating bacteria that have become resistant to drugs as a result of antibiotic overuse.
The White House Forum on Antibiotic Stewardship brought together more than 150 food companies, retailers, government agencies, and human and animal health experts to exchange ideas for future antibiotic stewardship. Officials at the event discussed their plans to implement changes over the next five years that will help slow antibiotic-resistant bacteria and prevent the spread of infections.
These discussions echo previous debates surrounding antibiotic overuse, which has been spurred by agriculturalists feeding livestock high quantities of antibiotics to prevent disease outbreaks and enhance growth. With little regulation or oversight, this excessive use of antibiotics has resulted in the development of dangerous microbes that no longer respond to antibiotics.
Misinformation about best practices for prescribing and using antibiotics also has contributed to the growth of these combative bacteria, according to previous data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
But solutions are in the works. Here are some of the collaborative plans for antibiotic stewardship that stakeholders from Tuesday’s forum have committed to developing:
- A partnership between the CDC and the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) will provide data about antibiotic use and prescribing trends. This information is intended to help physicians improve antibiotic use and cut inappropriate prescribing by 50 percent in practices and 20 percent in hospitals.
- Health care systems representing thousands of hospitals, long-term acute care facilities and skilled nursing centers plan to develop or expand stewardship programs to help improve antibiotic prescribing at their locations.
- Major food producers have committed to phase out giving unnecessary antibiotics to animals, and food retailers have committed to offer more antibiotic-free options.
- Drug stores and pharmaceutical companies plan to integrate the CDC’s stewardship principles into their programs that provide free or reduced-price antibiotics to patients.
Long a champion of efforts to curb antibiotic overuse, the AMA will make actionable findings from the study available to as many practicing physicians as possible. An education session at the 2015 AMA Interim Meeting in November will focus on the problem of antimicrobial resistance and offer insights for promote antimicrobial stewardship. The AMA Council on Science and Public Health also plans to release a report on the topic at that time.
Resources for hospitals to implement antibiotic stewardship programs
The CDC offers a self-assessment checklist and an in-depth implementation document for hospitals. The Joint Commission provides a health care-associated infections portal, which has a number of free resources, including an antimicrobial stewardship toolkit.
