Antimicrobial Stewardship Programs: 10 More Links to Free Resources

Last month, in conjunction with "Get Smart About Antibiotics Week" and "World Antibiotics Awareness Week," we shared links to 10 websites with free educational resources that organizations can incorporate into their antimicrobial stewardship program. Based on the popularity of that ICCS report, we're sharing links to 10 more websites with free resources.

1. Checklist for core elements of hospital antibiotic stewardship programs from the Centers for Disease Control & Prevention (CDC), which is intended for systematic use to assess key elements and actions to ensure optimal antibiotic prescribing and limit overuse and misuse of antibiotics in hospitals.

2. Posters from the World Health Organization (WHO), including those for doctors, dentists, managers, nurses and pharmacists explaining what they can do to help.

3. Infographics from WHO discussing causes of antibiotic resistance, how antibiotic resistance spreads and several others.

4. Guide to nursing home antimicrobial stewardship, published by Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality.

5. Case studies from The Pew Charitable Trusts. Here are 10 case studies that map how to improve antibiotic use in acute and long-term care facilities.

6. Playbook from National Quality Forum (NQF). The Playbook is designed to help hospitals and health systems strengthen existing antibiotic stewardship initiatives or create antibiotic stewardship programs from the ground up. It offers practical strategies for implementing high-quality antibiotic stewardship programs in hospitals nationwide.

7. Video from Joint Commission. Part of its "Speak Up" patient safety program, this video for patients is on "Antibiotics: Know the Facts."

8. Toolkit from the California Department of Public Health. It provides practical examples of local program implementation.

9. Antibiotic management guidelines, published by Johns Hopkins Hospital.

10. Video on the importance of antimicrobial stewardship from the Mount Sinai Hospital-University Health Network Antimicrobial Stewardship Program.