Under contract with the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), the Lake Superior Quality Innovation Network (QIN) invites you to participate in the quality improvement initiative: Combatting Antibiotic Resistant Bacteria through Antibiotic Stewardship in Communities. There are no costs to participate.
Part of the task of CMS’ quality improvement program in this arena will be to spread the principles of antibiotic stewardship among recruited outpatient settings at the point of care, where antibiotics are being prescribed. Lake Superior QIN has been working on antibiotic stewardship to prevent healthcare-associated infections (HAIs) and has a strong history of working in communities to facilitate transitions of care.
The goal of this project is to increase the number of outpatient settings that have incorporated all Core Elements of Outpatient Antibiotic Stewardship as defined by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The core elements themselves, as well as tools and strategies for implementing or enhancing them, will be the focus of this work. These include:
- Commitment: Dedication to and accountability for optimizing antibiotic prescribing and patient safety.
- Action for policy and practice: Implement at least one policy or practice to improve antibiotic prescribing, assess whether it is working, and modify as needed.
- Tracking and reporting: Monitor antibiotic prescribing practices and offer regular feedback to clinicians, or have clinicians assess their own antibiotic prescribing practices themselves.
- Education and expertise: Provide educational resources to clinicians and patients on antibiotic prescribing, and ensure access to needed expertise on optimizing antibiotic prescribing.
Through this initiative, we aim to establish a collaborative relationship with those of you doing the work in the field, by providing you with tools, resources, and support to meet your needs, while learning from your experiences in order to better health care outcomes across the region and across settings of care. More specific benefits and expectations of participation are described below.
Benefits:
You will...
- Receive education for outpatient settings on the fundamentals of Antibiotic Stewardship (AS) and the risks of misuse/overuse of antibiotics in healthcare
- Receive education on the Core Elements of Outpatient AS, education for patients on AS, and antibiotics in healthcare
- Gain experience in assessing and determining which Core Elements of AS are in place and/or needed
- Acquire tools to assess for and implement successful AS
- Have an opportunity to participate in a AS multidisciplinary advisory team
- Network with and learn from other experts in your state and the country working together on AS
- Participate in Learning and Action Network (LAN) activities that promote and spread AS best practices
Expectations:
You will...
- Remain active in this initiative through July 2019
- Grant permission to Lake Superior QIN to acknowledge participation in this initiative
- Form an interdisciplinary team to incorporate all Core Elements of Outpatient AS into practice
- Identify a clinical lead who will provide antibiotic support form an executive level and a staff champion who will manage the antibiotic stewardship program
- Participate in education opportunities, webinars and conference calls
- Collaborate with fellow healthcare providers in your geographic area, across various settings of care, to enhance AS in your community
- Share results, best practices, and lessons learned
- Track and report CDC's Outpatient Core Elements on a quarterly basis
Once this agreement is submitted, MetaStar will be in contact with you to discuss next steps.