ICCS President Phenelle Segal, RN, CIC, has contributed a column to The Joint Commission's Ambulatory Buzz blog.
The piece is titled "Getting in Gear: Anti-Microbial Stewardship – Not Just for Hospitals Anymore."
In the column, Ms. Segal discusses the history of anti-microbial stewardship (AMS), including recent federal legislation; why the issue should be of interest to ambulatory surgery centers, clinical practices and dialysis centers; and a Joint Commission standard relating to AMS released in 2016.
As Ms. Segal writes, "While the standard itself doesn't provide a direct call to action for ambulatory care centers, they still need to jump in the AMS game. Ambulatory care centers should seriously focus on developing their AMS programs without delay as both government and accreditors ramp up their efforts to implement changes in anti-microbial use. The Joint Commission may be developing ambulatory versions of the AMS standards beginning in 2017, so start preparing now."
To access the Ambulatory Buzz column, click here.