Antibiotic Stewardship

Home 5 Antibiotic Stewardship

Combating Antibiotic Resistance

VHAN is working to increase the appropriate use of antibiotics and decrease the threat of antibiotic resistance through a new Antibiotic Stewardship Program. Antibiotic overuse significantly reduces the quality of care for both adults and children. At least 30% of outpatient-prescribed antibiotics are unnecessary, sometimes leading to ER visits for adverse drug events in patients of all ages. Learn more about proper antibiotic management below.

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Management by Concern

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Upper Respiratory Infection (URI)

VHAN’s Antibiotic Stewardship Program aims to reduce unnecessary antibiotic prescriptions for URIs and promote alternate treatments.

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Urinary Tract Infection (UTI)

The VHAN Pharmacy team can help practices determine the best treatment for UTIs.

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Upper Respiratory

Infection (URI)

Purpose of this work:
The symptoms of upper respiratory infections (URIs) typically include runny nose, sore throat and cough. Most URIs are caused by viruses, which don’t respond to antibiotics. VHAN’s Antibiotic Stewardship Program aims to:

RReduce antibiotic prescriptions for these infections
RPromote treatment of symptoms at home
RCommunicate these goals to patients
RFacilitate a positive patient experience

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Case Study: Vanderbilt Antimicrobial Stewardship Program

Antibiotic resistance caused nearly 5 million associated deaths worldwide in 2019. To fight the crisis of resistance and ensure optimum use of antibiotics, a team of Vanderbilt University Medical Center physicians and pharmacists created the Vanderbilt Antimicrobial Stewardship Program (VASP). Read more about the VASP team’s efforts below.

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