What is one measure used to assess the impact of an antimicrobial stewardship program?

Assessing the impact of an antimicrobial stewardship program is crucial for understanding its effectiveness in managing antibiotic use and mitigating resistance. The rate of antibiotic resistance serves as a key measure because it directly reflects the consequences of antibiotic prescribing practices.

A decrease in antibiotic resistance rates suggests that the stewardship program is successfully promoting judicious use of antibiotics, thereby reducing the selection pressure that drives resistance. Monitoring resistance patterns helps identify whether the strategies implemented are effective in curbing the development and spread of resistant organisms, which is a primary goal of these programs.

In contrast, while the total number of antibiotics prescribed, the number of patients who receive antibiotics, and the variety of antibiotics on the formulary can provide insight into antibiotic usage patterns, they do not directly indicate whether the stewardship efforts are succeeding in tackling resistance. Actionable insights come from understanding how these patterns influence resistance trends in the community or healthcare setting. Thus, the rate of antibiotic resistance is a critical and meaningful measure of the stewardship program’s impact.