Eight hospitals will serve as testing sites for a program focused on improving use of antibiotics in hospitals, led jointly by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Institute for Healthcare Improvement (PDF).
The program will test strategies to prevent misuse and overuse, and will provide hospitals with methods for improvement, according to a news release from the Cambridge, Mass.-based IHI.
“Overuse and misuse contribute both to antibiotic resistance, one of the world's most pressing public health threats, and to a decrease in the stocks of these vital resources” the IHI said in the release. “It is estimated that at least 50% of antibiotic use in U.S. hospitals is inappropriate.”