NQF Launches Antibiotic Stewardship in Post-Acute and Long-Term Care Playbook 

Washington, DC - On the heels of the National Quality Partners (NQP) Playbook^TMAntibioticStewardship in Acute Care, the National Quality Forum is excited to launch the next version: the NQP Playbook^TM: AntibioticStewardship in Post-Acute and Long-Term Care.

The inappropriate use of antibiotics is a serious threat to the health and safety of all individuals, especially for those receiving care in post-acute and long-term care settings. According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), nearly 75 percent of the antibiotics in nursing homes are prescribed inappropriately.

To address this issue, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) updated its conditions of participation for long-term care facilities to include requirements related to antibiotic stewardship. CMS will now mandate that facilities develop an infection prevention and control program (IPCP) with dedicated staff. These requirements will come into effect at the end of 2018.

This playbook compiles the many antibiotic stewardship resources available into one easy to use tool for satisfying the new CMS requirements. It provides implementation strategies, sample tools, and resources that can help facilities develop an effective and comprehensive antibiotic stewardship program.

“Antibiotics can be life-saving, but overprescribing these medications is dangerous. This is why antibiotic stewardship is so important and is something Leapfrog has been asking hospitals about for years in our Leapfrog Hospital Survey,” said Leah Binder, President and CEO of The Leapfrog Group. Reaffirming the practicality of this new playbook, she said, “This new playbook is an important tool that builds on the previous work NQF has done on antibiotic stewardship. It is a practical guide that provides vital information to frontline staff that will help make care safer for all patients.”

There will be a public webinar on this topic on August 7, 2018 at 12:30pm.

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The National Quality Forum (NQF) is the nation’s resource for healthcare quality measurement and improvement. NQF is an independent, not-for-profit, membership-based organization that brings healthcare stakeholders together to recommend quality measures and improvement strategies that reduce costs and help patients get better care. Learn more at www.qualityforum.org.