Nursing Home Antibiotic Stewardship

Features, Applications & Benefits 

Leadership Commitment

Nursing home leaders commit to improving antibiotic use.

Accountability

Nursing homes identify individuals accountable for the antibiotic stewardship activities who have the support of facility leadership.

Drug Expertise

Nursing homes establish access to individuals with antibiotic expertise to implement antibiotic stewardship activities. Receiving support from infectious disease consultants and consultant pharmacists with training in antibiotic stewardship can help a nursing home reduce antibiotic use and experience lower rates of positive C. difficile tests.

Take Action Through Policy and Practice Change to Improve Antibiotic Use

Nursing homes implement prescribing policies and change practices to improve antibiotic use. The introduction of new policies and procedures which address antibiotic use should be done in a step-wise fashion so staff become familiar with and not overwhelmed by new changes in practice. Prioritize interventions based on the needs of your facility and share outcomes from successful interventions with nursing staff and clinical providers.

Tracking and Reporting Antibiotic Use and Outcomes

Nursing homes monitor both antibiotic use practices and outcomes related to antibiotics in order to guide practice changes and track the impact of new interventions. Data on adherence to antibiotic prescribing policies and antibiotic use are shared with clinicians and nurses to maintain awareness about the progress being made in antibiotic stewardship. Clinician response to antibiotic use feedback (e.g., acceptance) may help determine whether feedback is effective in changing prescribing behaviors.

Education

Nursing homes provide antibiotic stewardship education to clinicians, nursing staff, residents and families. Effective educational programs address both nursing staff and clinical providers on the goal of an antibiotic stewardship intervention, and the responsibility of each group for ensuring its implementation.  Nursing homes sustain improvements by incorporating both education and feedback to providers.  Nursing homes engage residents and their family members in antibiotic use and stewardship educational efforts to ensure clinicians have their support to make appropriate antibiotic use decisions. Working with residents and families will reduce the perception that their expectations may be a barrier to improving antibiotic use in nursing homes.

Advantages of using Provectus

An antimicrobial stewardship program (ASP) is designed to provide guidance for the safe and cost-effective use of antimicrobial agents.  At Provectus Diagnostics our primary goal  is to optimize clinical outcomes while minimizing unintended consequences related to antimicrobial usage, such as toxicities or the emergence of resistance.

The core elements of antibiotic stewardship are the same for both hospitals and nursing homes. This guide provides examples of how these elements can be applied by nursing home leadership, clinicians and staff to monitor and improve antibiotic use. Nursing homes are encouraged to select one or two activities to start with and over time, as improvements are implemented, expand efforts to add new strategies to continue improving antibiotic use. Commit now to ensure antibiotic stewardship policies and practices are in place to protect patients and improve clinical care in nursing homes.