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Hospitals launch SWAT teams to fight infections

Quality Improvement Monitor, September 5, 2008

With less than a month to go before Medicare stops paying for hospital-acquired conditions, some hospitals are enlisting antibiotic SWAT teams to fight infections, according to the Wall Street Journal.

Officially known as antimicrobial stewardship programs, the teams partner pharmacists, infectious-disease specialists and microbiologists to monitor the hospital’s use of antibiotics. The teams will also restrict prescriptions of antibiotics when they become less effective at fighting infections, the Journal reported.

Two hospital purchasing groups have launched campaigns to reduce antibiotic use.

Premier Inc., with more than 2,000 members, is pushing its hospitals to implement antimicrobial stewardship programs. The company is also offering a data-tracking system to monitor the use of some medications.

Meanwhile, VHA Inc., has been using a “Bugs and Drugs” program to help hospitals cut back on the use of antibiotics, the Journal said.

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