Antibiotic Resistance and Stewardship for Health Professionals
- Antibiotic Resistance and Stewardship for Health Professionals Home
- Antimicrobial Stewardship Programs
- Minimum Criteria for Initiation in LTCFs
Related Topics
Contact Info
Antibiotic Resistance and Stewardship
for Health Professionals
Antibiotic stewardship is a national and state health care priority. In 2015, the US government released the National Action Plan for Combating Antibiotic-Resistant Bacteria and in 2016, Minnesota released its One Health Minnesota Antibiotic Stewardship Strategic Plan. Stewardship interventions have been proven to improve individual patient outcomes, reduce the burden of antibiotic resistance, and save health care dollars. We have compiled a library of resources for health care facilities and clinicians to promote the effective implementation of antibiotic stewardship in human health care.
On this page:
Health care facilities
Clinicians
Learn more about antibiotic stewardship
For health care facilities
- CDC: Educational Resources for Healthcare Professionals | Antibiotic Use
CDC materials you can download and print, including viral prescription pads, fact sheets, patient brochures, delayed prescribing pads, and posters. - Minnesota Antibiotic Stewardship Commitment Materials
Show your commitment to antibiotic stewardship! We have created templates that you can download and use. - Antimicrobial Stewardship Programs (ASP)
About creating a ASP in your facility, including guidelines for acute care and toolkits for long term care and outpatient clinics.
For Long-term Care Facilities | For Acute Care | For Outpatient Clinics - Prescribing Antibiotics in Outpatient Settings during the COVID-19 Pandemic (PDF)
Information and considerations for providers related to COVID-19.
Antibiotic Stewardship Programs
- Acute Care Antibiotic Stewardship Program Gap Analysis Tool (Excel)
This gap analysis tool was developed and used by a Minnesota-based hospital system to assess antibiotic stewardship activities in advance of a new 2017 Joint Commission standard. - CDC: Core Elements of Hospital Antibiotic Stewardship Programs
- CDC: Implementation of Antibiotic Stewardship Core Elements at Small and Critical Access Hospitals
- Acute Care Antibiotic Stewardship Program Resource List (PDF)
- NQF: Antibiotic Stewardship in Acute Care Playbook
For each CDC Core Element, the Playbook includes a brief rationale and overview, examples for implementation, potential barriers and suggested solutions, and suggested tools and resources. - IDSA/SHEA: Implementing an Antibiotic Stewardship Program
- Pew Charitable Trust: A path to better antibiotic stewardship in inpatient settings
- ASM: Systematic Review and Meta-analysis of Clinical and Economic Outcomes from the Implementation of Hospital-based Antimicrobial Stewardship Programs
- AHA: Appropriate Use of Medical Resources: Antimicrobial Stewardship Toolkit (PDF)
NHSN Antimicrobial Use and Resistance Module
- NHSN Antimicrobial Use and Resistance Module
This module is a system that hospitals can use to track the use of antibiotics and the occurrence of drug-resistant infections. Reports can give facilities important information to help reduce overuse of antibiotics, and in turn, help to reduce the incidence of antibiotic-resistant infections.
Tools from Minnesota partners:
- Minnesota Antimicrobial Stewardship Program Toolkit for Outpatient Clinics
- Antibiotic Stewardship Conference: Focus on Ambulatory Care
Other stewardship resources for long-term care:
- CDC: Core Elements of Outpatient Antibiotic Stewardship
- NCBI: Improving Antibiotic Prescribing for Uncomplicated Acute Respiratory Tract Infections
- NCBI: Antimicrobial Stewardship Programs in Outpatient Settings: A Systematic Review
- CDC: Outpatient Antibiotic Prescribing in the United States
- Pew Charitable Trust: Antibiotic Use in Outpatient Settings (PDF)
- Pew Charitable Trust: What Drives Inappropriate Antibiotic Use in Outpatient Care (PDF)
Tools from Minnesota partners:
- Minnesota Antimicrobial Stewardship Program Resources for Long-term Care Facilities
- Minnesota Sample Antibiotic Stewardship Policy for Long-Term Care Facilities (PDF) | (Word)
- Sample Newsletter Article for Long-term Care Facilities (PDF) | (Word)
- Using Electronic Health Records for Antibiotic Stewardship (PDF)
- Antibiotic Stewardship in Long-Term Care Webinar Series
Videos and presentations from the recorded recap of the March 2017 Antibiotic Stewardship in Long-Term Care Conference.
Other stewardship resources for long-term care:
- CDC: The Core Elements of Antibiotic Stewardship for Nursing Homes
- CDC: Nursing Home Infection Preventionist Training
- CDC: Do You Need Antibiotics? (PDF)
Information about antibiotics for nursing home residents and their families - AHRQ: Nursing Home Antimicrobial Stewardship Guide
Includes toolkits to decide when to treat, how to choose an antibiotics, and how to engage residents and families. - Government Publishing Office, Federal Register: Medicare and Medicaid Programs; Reform of Requirements for Long-term Care Facilities (PDF)
Code of Federal Regulations 42 (Antibiotic Stewardship found under Infection Prevention and Control, § 483.80) - Massachusetts Coalition for the Prevention of Medical Errors: Improving Evaluation of Urinary Tract Infections in the Elderly
- Metro Alliance of Geriatric Providers: Antibiotic Stewardship
Includes peer reviewed journal article, "Nursing Home Antibiotic Stewardship to Address Asymptomatic Bacteriuria and Urinary Tract Infection: A Quality Improvement Project."
Tools from Minnesota partners:
- Minnesota Fact Sheet: Antibiotic Resistance and Stewardship for Minnesota’s Dental Professionals (PDF)
- Dental Providers: Minnesota Antibiotic Stewardship Commitment Materials for Partners
Other stewardship resources for dental professionals:
- ADA: Antibiotic Prophylaxis Prior to Dental Procedures
- ADA: Antibiotic prescribing by general dentists in the United States
- CDC: Seven Ways Dentists can Act Against Antibiotic Resistance (PDF)
- CDC: Checklist for Antibiotic Prescribing in Dentistry (PDF)
- CDC: DentalCheck Mobile App
- CDC: Antibiotic Use For A Safe Dental Visit (PDF)
For clinicians
- Antimicrobial Susceptibilities of Selected Pathogens (Antibiogram)
The Antimicrobial Susceptibilities of Selected Pathogens, also known as the Minnesota Department of Health (MDH) antibiogram, includes a compilation of antimicrobial susceptibilities of selected pathogens that have been submitted to the MDH Public Health Laboratory. - Minimum Criteria for Initiation of Antibiotics in Long-Term Care Residents
Pocket reference card that includes information about treating patients with suspected UTI, skin and soft tissue infection, suspected respiratory infection, or fever with unknown focus of infection.
Syndrome-specific guidelines
- CDC: Outpatient Clinical Care for Adults
Outpatient adult treatment recommendations for sinusitis, bronchitis, upper respiratory tract infection, pharyngitis, and cystitis. - CDC: Outpatient Clinical Care for Pediatric Populations
Outpatient pediatric treatment recommendations for sinusitis, acute otitis media, pharyngitis, upper respiratory tract infection, bronchiolitis, and urinary tract infections. - New York Department of Health: Adult Antibiotic Prescribing Guidelines/ Pediatric Antibiotic Prescribing Guidelines (PDF)
Outpatient adult treatment recommendations for sinusitis, bronchitis, pharyngitis, and cystitis. Outpatient pediatric treatment recommendations for sinusitis, acute otitis media, pharyngitis, upper respiratory tract infection, bronchiolitis, and urinary tract infections.
Specific examples of stewardship data tools
- CID: Use of Electronic Health Records and Clinical Decision Support Systems for Antimicrobial Stewardship
- PLOS: Impact of a Prospective Audit and Feedback Antimicrobial Stewardship Program at a Veterans Affairs Medical Center
- AHRQ: Toolkit for Reduction of Clostridium difficile Infections through Antimicrobial Stewardship
- ACP: Antibiotic Self-stewardship: Trainee-Led Structured Antibiotic Time-outs to Improve Antimicrobial Use
News of rapid diagnostic testing
- CID: IDSA/SHEA: Review of Rapid Diagnostic Tests Used by Antimicrobial Stewardship Programs
- CID: IDSA/SHEA: Emerging Technologies for Rapid Identification of Bloodstream Pathogens
Learn more about antibiotic stewardship
- Current State Plan Progress and Data
- CDC: Antibiotic Use in the United States, 2023 Update: Progress and Opportunities
- U of M CIDRAP Antimicrobial Stewardship Project
Offers emerging news, online journal club, policy updates, bibliographies, and events calendar
Fact sheets
- Minnesota Fact Sheet: Antibiotic Use and Antibiotic Resistance: Answers for Patients (PDF)
- Minnesota Fact Sheet: Antibiotic Resistance and Stewardship for Minnesota’s Dental Professionals (PDF)
- Minnesota Fact Sheet: Community Pharmacists: Essential Partners in Minnesota Antibiotic Stewardship (PDF)
- Minnesota Fact Sheet: Antimicrobial Use and Resistance Module: A tool to manage, use, and report hospital antibiotic use data (PDF)
Videos/webinars
The way we use antibiotics today
or in one patient
directly impacts how effective they will be tomorrow
or in another patient;
antibiotics are a shared resource.
Preserving effective antibiotic treatments requires all of us to do our part.