ANTIMICROBIAL STEWARDSHIP
Robust Antimicrobial Stewardship Program (ASP) Support
We provide optimum antimicrobial management to ensure favorable treatment outcomes, shorten patient hospital stay, and enable cost savings by reducing the high expenditures associated with inappropriate antimicrobial use, and improve regulatory compliance.
Praxis ID’s ASP support is also designed to lower the incidence of antimicrobial resistance and reduce the occurrence rates of hospital-acquired infections such as Clostridioides difficile (CDI).
Praxis ID’s ASP support is customizable and includes close cooperation with pharmacy staff. If needed, pharmacy staff may also consult with the Praxis ID clinician on the weekends. The goal of these consultations is to review individual patients to ensure they are on the optimal therapy in accordance with ASP program goals. For example, if the goal is reduction of quinolone use or broad-spectrum antibiotic use, along with, overall cost reduction, then Praxis working with pharmacy staff might use the following criteria to select patients for review:
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Review patients who are on >3 days of any antibioitc
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Review quinolone prescriptions
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Review vancomycin prescriptions
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Review high-cost antibiotic prescriptions
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Review Zosyn, carbapenem, or cefepime prescriptions
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Answer questions that the pharmacist may have about any case
Depending on the circumstance, upon reviewing cases with pharmacy staff, Praxis will make recommendations to the pharmacist or speak to the attending clinician. Praxis ID’s ASP support is customizable for individual facilities.
ABOUT ANTIMICROBIAL STEWARDSHIP
Antimicrobials have played a vital role in the advancement of modern medicine. Antibiotic therapy remains the mainstay of treatment for most infectious diseases. Prompt administration of antibiotics to treat infections is associated with reduced patient morbidity and mortality rates. However, the widespread use of antimicrobials has led to increasing antimicrobial resistance. The growing issue of antimicrobial resistance is further worsened due to inappropriate use of antibiotics in the community.
In the United States, approximately 20-50% of the prescribed antibiotic therapy in hospitals is either inappropriate or unnecessary. In such a scenario, antimicrobial stewardship is a key strategy of utmost value as it optimizes appropriate antimicrobial use improving overall patient outcomes.
