Priorities for Hospital Core Element Implementation
In 2022, as a result of widespread national implementation of the seven hospital core elements of antibiotic stewardship, CDC identified and published the Priorities for Hospital Core Element Implementation. The priorities are derived from six of the seven original hospital core elements and are intended to help enhance the quality and impact of antibiotic stewardship programs by highlighting highly effective implementation strategies as supported by evidence and stewardship experts.
New this year, MDH’s Antibiotic Use and Stewardship in Minnesota: 2024 Update on Progress and Opportunities (PDF) report summarizes implementation of the priority core elements alongside other antibiotic use measures to describe the state of antibiotic use and stewardship in Minnesota. Notable findings from the data include:
- In Minnesota, 47% of acute care hospitals implemented four or more priority core elements in 2022, an increase from 35% in 2021.
- Pharmacy expertise was the most commonly implemented priority core element (72%) while reporting was the least (20%).
- General acute care hospitals performed better than critical access hospitals on each of the priority core elements, except for reporting.
This report is intended to provide actionable insights to inform stewardship activities and outlines several areas of opportunity for improvement in core element implementation and antibiotic prescribing. MDH encourages stewardship champions and teams within health care facilities and/or health systems to review the report and consider how the data and recommendations can inform their stewardship program initiatives.
Updated Resource: Infection and Antibiotic Use Tracking Tool
The MDH Infection and Antibiotic Use Tracking Tool was created to support facilities with documentation of antibiotic use practices and related outcomes. Tracking this data is an important component of supporting individual facility improvements and public health action related to antibiotic stewardship.
Several updates were made in the newest version of the tracking tool, including:
- Updated lists of infection types (e.g., COVID-19) and antimicrobials
- Inclusion of Enhanced Barrier Precautions to the list of Transmission Based Precautions
- Increased number of data entry rows
The tracking tool can be downloaded from MDH’s Minnesota Antimicrobial Stewardship Program Resources for Long-term Care Facilities webpage or using the direct links below:
For technical assistance or to obtain this information in a different format, reach out to the MDH Healthcare-Associated Infections and Antimicrobial Resistance Section at health.HAI@state.mn.us.
Apply Now: Minnesota Antibiotic Stewardship Honor Roll
The Minnesota Department of Health is proud to recognize 56 hospitals and 9 long-term care facilities on our Minnesota Antibiotic Stewardship Honor Roll! We invite you to join your peers in publicly demonstrating your commitment to antibiotic stewardship by applying for the Minnesota Antibiotic Stewardship (AS) Honor Roll:
The Honor Roll was designed to recognize antibiotic stewardship programs and the associated organizational commitments to improving antibiotic use and prescribing practices. This program aims to:
- Encourage AS commitment from the highest level of administration to prescribers and caregivers,
- Share AS activities with health professionals and the public, with the aims of highlighting new ideas and encouraging facility-to-facility engagement,
- Provide incentive for AS program improvement in individual facilities and statewide through mentorship, and
- Publicize the importance of antibiotic responsibility.
For more information, email Health.Stewardship@state.mn.us.
Elizabeth Hirsch, PharmD, RPh
Clinical Pharmacist and Assistant Professor, University of Minnesota
How does your work involve issues of antibiotic use?
I am a clinical pharmacist with infectious diseases expertise. In my clinical practice, I routinely encounter patients receiving antibiotics and make recommendations on their antibiotic therapies. I also run a research lab that studies the detection and treatment of antibiotic-resistant bacterial infections.
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From your perspective, what is most challenging about antibiotic use and stewardship?
Unlike other medical specialties (such as oncology), any clinician with prescribing authority can prescribe antibiotics. Different from most other medications, the use of an antibiotic in one person can have an impact on its effectiveness in another person. While education about appropriate use of antibiotics is increasing, we still have a long way to go in creating awareness for both the public and all health care providers about reducing unnecessary antibiotic use.
What worries you most about antibiotic resistance?
In my work as a clinical pharmacist with infectious diseases teams in the hospital, I have seen patients with infections for which almost no effective treatment options exist. It terrifies me that within my lifetime, we may run out of antibiotics to treat simple infections, which will also make many modern surgical procedures impossible.
Visit our Stories of Antibiotic Use and Resistance webpage for more on this and other stories.
Webinars and podcasts
CDC and Federal Office of Rural Health Policy Webinar
Wednesday, Nov. 20, 2024 | 2-3 p.m. CT
Register: Implementation of Priority Core Elements in Critical Access Hospitals
American Society of Health-System Pharmacists Clinical Conversations Podcast
Thursday, Nov. 21, 2024
Listen: Be Antibiotics Aware: Management of Community-acquired Pneumonia in Hospitalized Adults
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