Abstract

[This article was originally published in Healthcare Quarterly, 20(4)]

Antimicrobial stewardship is a key strategy to facilitate judicious antimicrobial use. Software that can amalgamate prescribing and microbiology information in near real-time reporting and track antimicrobial resistance patterns aids timely interventions. This article examines the impact of a clinical surveillance software used to identify patients for prospective audit and feedback rounds by an antimicrobial stewardship team on antibiotic utilization, patient outcomes and workload efficiencies at an acute care community hospital. Results from a general internal medicine unit show statistically significant reductions in the use of broad-spectrum antibiotics and antibiotic expenditures, with no untoward changes in key clinical and patient safety outcomes.