Media Advisory - Telephone Briefing 

Note: This briefing is for media only. A webinar for NQF members is scheduled on May 25, 1:30-3:00pm ET.

What:

Public and private sector leaders will unveil urgently needed tools to help U.S. hospitals implement strategies that promote appropriate and safe antibiotic use. According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), drug-resistant bacteria cause 2 million illnesses and 23,000 deaths annually. National experts will discuss how hospitals can use this resource to reduce antibiotic misuse and overuse to improve patient safety.

Who:

• Arjun Srinivasan, MD (CAPT, USPHS), CDC, Associate Director, Healthcare Associated Infection Prevention Programs, Division of Healthcare Quality Promotion
• Ed Septimus, MD, HCA, Medical Director, Infection Prevention and Epidemiology
• Sara Cosgrove, MD, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Director, Antimicrobial Stewardship Program, who served on the President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology
• Kathleen Giblin, RN, National Quality Forum, Senior Vice President, Quality Innovation

When:

Wednesday, May 25, 2016
12:15–1:00pm ET

Background:

Recognized as a national health crisis, overuse and misuse of antibiotics have fostered increased prevalence of superbug infections that are resistant to antibiotic treatment. CDC recommends that all acute-care hospitals in the United States develop antibiotic stewardship programs to ensure they are prescribing antibiotics appropriately. The National Quality Forum’s National Quality Partners led a widespread effort to advance CDC’s Core Elements and its recommendations to improve antibiotic use. The result is a new, practical guide, National Quality Partners Playbook: Antibiotic Stewardship in Acute Care, for hospitals to create, strengthen, and measure antibiotic stewardship practices.

Register to participate in the media briefing.