01.16.2017

Joint Commission Issues Antimicrobial Standards

The Joint Commission has issued a new Medication Management standard relating to antimicrobial stewardship for hospitals, critical access hospitals, and nursing care centers. The new standard became effective January 1.

In May, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released a paper claiming that 20-50% of all antibiotics prescribed in U.S. acute care hospitals are either unnecessary or inappropriate. The CDC noted that “the misuse of antibiotics has also contributed to the growing problem of antibiotic resistance, which has become one of the most serious and growing threats to public health.”

The new Joint Commission standard calls on hospitals to establish antimicrobial stewardship as an organizational priority, educate both staff and patients on the issue, and create an antimicrobial stewardship multidisciplinary team  to develop a stewardship program that contains a series of elements.

The complete Joint Commission standard is here .  MHA is working with DPH and other stakeholders to hold an antimicrobial stewardship program at MHA in May 2017.