healthcare-associated infection (hai) program

Antimicrobial Stewardship

More than half of hospitalized patients have been shown to receive unsupported antibiotics [i]. This includes:

79% of patients with community-acquired pneumonia (due to excessive duration)
77% of patients with urinary tract infection (due to undocumented infection signs/symptoms)

Physicians, nurses, and pharmacy and laboratory staff can work together to improve and optimize antimicrobial use (AU) through effective antimicrobial stewardship (AS) programs (ASP).
ASP interventions have been demonstrated to improve patient outcomes and reduce adverse consequences, including combatting antimicrobial resistance (AR) and mitigating Clostridioides difficile infections.
Promote AS in your facility by participating in the following CDPH activities:

CDPH ASP Honor Roll: More than one third of California hospital ASP are Honor Roll members. Apply for Bronze, Silver, or Gold level designation to recognize your facility’s ASP.

California AS Collaborative Network (ASCN): Share ideas and knowledge, and collaborate on AS topics and projects with peers.

National Healthcare Safety Network (NHSN) AU and AR Reporting: One third of hospitals are reporting AU data, and one sixth are reporting AR data to NHSN. Use the CDPH toolkit to get started with NHSN AU and/or AR data reporting.