Rhode Island medical journal (2013)
-
Due to the rise of antibiotic resistance, and the decrease of novel antibiotics coming to market, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has formally recognized that action must take place to ensure appropriate antibiotic use, and maintain public health. The RI Department of Health (RIDOH) Director responded by initiating the RI Antimicrobial Stewardship and Environmental Cleaning Task Force (RIAMSEC), a multidisciplinary team that set in motion a set of tasks for RIDOH. As a result, a survey of antibiotic stewardship programs (ASP) at the RI acute care hospitals (ACHs) and long-term care (LTC) facilities revealed gaps in addressing HAI prevention and AMS goals for the state. RIDOH has therefore expanded statewide coordination efforts to form the RI Healthcare-Associated Infection Prevention and Antimicrobial Stewardship Coalition which is intended to effectively prevent HAI and ultimate improve the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services Hospital-acquired Condition (HAC) Reduction scores in Rhode Island.[Full article available at http://rimed.org/rimedicaljournal-2018-06.asp].
-
Up to 50% of hospital-administered and 70% of nursing home-administered antimicrobials are inappropriately prescribed. There is a great need to focus local, national and global efforts on appropriate antibiotic use. Formal programs dedicated to appropriate antibiotic use have been established in most US hospitals. ⋯ With the Joint Commission Standards for Acute Care facilities, and Centers for Medicare and Medicare (CMS) for long-term care facilities making antimicrobial stewardship (AMS) a condition of participation, both facilities will be scrambling to create appropriate quality care indicators to measure program success. One major theme across all healthcare settings is that ASPs must collaborate with facility leadership and key stakeholders at each institution in order to have an impactful benefit on patient quality of care, and safety. It is the purpose of this review to offer several economic, process, and patient-outcome measurements for ASP to optimally communicate with facility leadership.
-
This article is a review of the public health risks of widespread cannabis use based on a recent review of the literature. The purpose of this article is to help physicians better educate the public about the dangers of widespread cannabis products.