Strengthen IPC Regulations and Antibiotic Surveillance through Post-Acute Analytics

Improving antibiotic usage among nursing homes has become a national priority. According to the CDC, antibiotics are among the most frequently prescribed medication in nursing facilities – reports indicate 6-10% of residents receive antibiotics on any given day. However, 40-75% of those prescribed antibiotics may be unnecessary or inappropriate, causing risk of serious Gastrointestinal infections from Clostridium difficile, increased adverse drug events and drug interactions, even death. There’s also the threat of antibiotic-resistant infections, which afflict 2.8 million Americans annually.

We already know that monitoring and tracking antibiotic use in nursing facilities is an arduous and painstakingly timely process, but vital if we want to improve outcomes and eliminate needless side effects. The right technology can help – by not only automating the tracking and reporting of antibiotic use facility-wide, but also by identifying the early warning signs of infection and highlighting the need for possible testing to determine the appropriate drug interventions. Operators can also leverage live data analysis to meet state and federal requirements, prepare for regulatory reporting and onsite surveys, and conduct infection surveillance.

Learning Objectives

• Review and understand CDC Antibiotic Stewardship requirements and understand the challenges of antibiotic resistance in the nursing home setting
• Describe strategies to improve antibiotic use and lower antibiotic resistance as well as unnecessary adverse drug interactions
• Explain how live data analysis can strengthen IPC resources to automate IPC efforts, analyze emerging symptomatology, and reduce overall antibiotic-resistance cases.

Speaker:

• Cheryl Scalzo, RN, Clinical Account Manager, Real Time Medical Systems

This session is presented at the 2023 NADONA National Conference.