Despite a federal push to require nursing homes to establish antibiotic stewardship programs, about 25 percent have policies that are not comprehensive, according to a study published in the American Journal of Infection Control.
The CDC released recommendations to improve antibiotic-prescribing practices in nursing homes in 2015. It also released a resource to help nursing homes begin or expand antibiotic stewardship activities.
Researchers conducted a nationally representative survey of 861 nursing homes in 2018. They examined the comprehensiveness of antibiotic stewardship programs.
They found:
● 33.2 percent of nursing homes had comprehensive antibiotic stewardship program policies
● 41.1 percent had moderately comprehensive antibiotic stewardship program policies
● 25.6 percent did not have comprehensive antibiotic stewardship program policies
Additionally, comprehensive antibiotic stewardship programs were associated with involvement in quality innovation network and quality improvement organization activities.
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