How Are Antimicrobial Stewardship Programs Lacking in Long-term Care Facilities?

Alan Gross, PharmD, BCPS-AQID, Clinical Assistant Professor, Pharmacy Practice, University of Illinois at Chicago, College of Pharmacy, explains how antimicrobial stewardship programs need to be strengthened in long-term care facilities.

Interview Transcript (slightly modified for readability)

“Antimicrobial stewardship programs have really been lacking in long-term care facilities in the United States, and they’re particularly important in long-term care facilities because there’s a lot of misuse of antibiotics in long-term care—as much or more than acute care hospitals. At the same time, there’s a lot of drug resistance among patients in long-term care facilities. So, it’s kind of a perfect storm in terms of an area where we really need to improve our antimicrobial prescribing and use.

This is also a problem because long-term care facility patients are shared among acute care hospitals, and a lot of times, a lot of the resistance coming into acute care hospitals is from long-term care. So, we really need to have a better hold on when [we are] using antibiotics appropriately in the long-term care facilities, educating our providers, and monitoring adverse effects from antimicrobials in long-term care facilities.”