Infectious Diseases Faculty Lead New Antibiotic Stewardship Initiatives

This month, Infectious Diseases faculty members are implementing a new approach to the way Duke University Hospital uses and monitors antibiotics.

Under the direction of Deverick Anderson, MD, MPH, associate professor of medicine (Infectious Diseases) and Rebekah Moehring, MD, MPH, medical instructor (Infectious Diseases), Duke’s antibiotic stewardship program is launching a new, data-driven program in May that will optimize antibiotic use in the hospital and directly affect and improve patient care and safety.

“For the past decade at Duke, we have had a passive approach to stewardship,” Anderson said. That approach included education materials, best practices, and a website – Duke Custom ID – intended to guide prescribers at Duke. “But this program has relied on physicians to look at the information and apply it. What we are doing now is expanding the program to have a more active role in the hospital.”

Read the full story on antibiotic stewardship on the MedicineNews blog.