A key component of antibiotic stewardship, or efforts to ensure that these drugs are used only when necessary and appropriate, is shared data on antibiotic use and infections that are resistant to such drugs. Such reporting is proved to improve patient outcomes, lower health care costs, and reduce inappropriate antibiotic use. Many state health departments support hospitals and other health care facilities in capturing and sharing such data using federal systems such as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s National Healthcare Safety Network (NHSN), and the Antimicrobial Use and Resistance Module within NHSN. However, resource limitations, especially in small and rural hospitals, are often a barrier to the ability to collect this valuable data.
Pew spoke with officials at five state health departments to learn about their antibiotic stewardship efforts, including challenges they’ve faced and how public health leaders in other states can partner with facilities to improve antibiotic use reporting. With increased antibiotic use data, health care stakeholders—including medical providers and public health experts—will be better equipped to prescribe antibiotics more appropriately and slow the growth of antibiotic resistance.