AHRQ Safety Program for Improving Antibiotic Use

AHRQ Safety Program for Improving Antibiotic Use

The AHRQ Safety Program for Improving Antibiotic Use: A National Program for Antibiotic Stewardship

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The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ), in conjunction with the Johns Hopkins Medicine Armstrong Institute for Patient Safety and Quality and NORC at The University of Chicago, created the AHRQ Safety Program for Improving Antibiotic Use to develop and implement a bundle of interventions designed to improve antibiotic stewardship and antibiotic prescribing practices across acute care, long-term care, and ambulatory care facilities across the United States.

Antibiotics are a precious resource and can be critical for improving the outcomes of patients with serious infections. However, antibiotics also have the potential to cause patient harm, including allergic reactions, Clostridioides difficile infections, and antibiotic resistance both at the individual patient level and for society as a whole. We want antibiotics to be effective for future generations, and that is only possible if we use antibiotics judiciously.