U.N. tackles antibiotic resistance as global health threat worsens
Skip to main content
MDHC_Logotype_white
Subscribe
  • My Account
  • Login
  • Subscribe
  • News
    • This Week's News
    • COVID-19
    • Providers
    • Insurance
    • Government
    • Finance
    • Technology
    • Safety & Quality
    • People
    • Regional News
    • Digital Edition
    • CMS finalizes blood-based colon cancer screening coverage
      As virus surges, states reporting shortages of vaccine
      Former Alabama lawmaker Ed Henry pardoned by Trump
      New CDC director takes over beleaguered agency amid crisis
    • As virus surges, states reporting shortages of vaccine
      New CDC director takes over beleaguered agency amid crisis
      Hospital M&A activity rebounds in Q4
      Surgeon General calls on businesses to invest in community health
    • Louisiana gets reports vaccine providers are discriminating
      'We know this is real': New clinics aid virus 'long-haulers'
      The Check Up: Trenda Ray
      The Check Up: Trenda Ray of the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences
      Trenda Ray
      Q&A: Arkansas nursing leader looking for creative staffing solutions as COVID cases surge
    • CMS approves rule forcing insurers to ease prior authorization
      COVID-19 still a big uncertainty for insurers in 2021
      Health insurers' outlook boosted after Dems' Georgia win
      humana_i.jpg
      Humana supports Ohio not-for-profits with $500,000
    • CMS finalizes blood-based colon cancer screening coverage
      As virus surges, states reporting shortages of vaccine
      New CDC director takes over beleaguered agency amid crisis
    • Providers await new HHS coronavirus grant reporting deadline
      Operation Warp Speed Dr. Moncef Slaoui, Pfizer Group President Angela Hwang, Moderna CEO Stephane Bancel, CVS Health Executive Vice President Karen Lynch and McKesson CEO Brian Tyler participate in a panel discussion on the COVID-19 vaccine.
      Hospitals, drug companies strive to stand out virtually at JPM
      Intermountain, Trinity, Memorial Hermann behind $300M private equity fund
      Operation Warp Speed to bump up McKesson's stock price
    • A man in a room with servers.
      Momentum grows to outsource hospital tech functions in 2021
      5 things to know about Google's $2.1B Fitbit acquisition
      Providence bets on machine-learning, consolidating data centers
      Mental health treatment was most common telehealth service during COVID
    • As virus surges, states reporting shortages of vaccine
      Sticking to Mediterranean diet is good for the brain
      Chance of COVID-19 triage care looms over Arizona hospitals
      U.S. ramps up vaccinations to get doses to more Americans
    • Providence names new chief financial officer
      Wisconsin's top health official departing for federal job
      Cone Health CEO, CFO to depart amid pending Sentara merger
      Tower Health's finance chief resigning after years of steep losses
    • Midwest
    • Northeast
    • South
    • West
  • Insights
    • ACA 10 Years After
    • Best Practices
    • InDepth Special Reports
    • Innovations
    • The Affordable Care Act after 10 years
    • New care model helps primary-care practices treat obesity
      doctor with patient
      COVID-19 treatment protocol developed in the field helps patients recover
      Rachel Wyatt
      Project to curb pressure injuries in hospitals shows promise
      Yale New Haven's COVID-19 nurse-staffing model has long-term benefits
    • Dr. James Hildreth
      How medical education can help fight racism
      Modern Healthcare InDepth: Breaking the bias that impedes better healthcare
      Videos: Healthcare industry executives describe their encounters with racism
      Michellene Davis
      Healthcare leadership lacks the racial diversity needed to reduce health disparities
      Hospital divided into multiple pieces
      Health systems may be warming to offshoring, a mainstay practice for insurers
    • A woman with a wearable sensor talking to her provider.
      Wearable sensors help diagnose heart rhythm problems in West Virginia
      self service station
      COVID-19 pushes patient expectations toward self-service
      Targeting high-risk cancer patients with genetics
      A nurse holds up a phone with a message to a family member saying surgery has started.
      Texting, tablets help hospitals keep family updated on patient care
  • Transformation
    • Patients
    • Operations
    • Care Delivery
    • Payment
    • Highmark Health inks six-year cloud, tech deal with Google
      Study: 1 in 5 patients report discrimination when getting healthcare
      HHS proposes changing HIPAA privacy rules
      Android health records app launches at 230 health systems
    • California hospitals prepare ethical protocol to prioritize lifesaving care
      Amazon, JPMorgan Chase, Berkshire Hathaway disband Haven
      Digital pathways poised to reshape healthcare continuum in 2021
      Healthcare was the hardest hit by supply shortages across all U.S. industries
    • A woman with a wearable sensor talking to her provider.
      Wearable sensors help diagnose heart rhythm problems in West Virginia
      New care model helps primary-care practices treat obesity
      How hospitals are building on COVID-19 telehealth momentum
      Researchers: Hospital price variation exacerbates health inequities
    • MedPAC votes to boost hospital payments, freeze or cut other providers
      Most Next Gen ACOs achieved bonuses in 2019
      Congress recalibrates Medicare Physician Fee Schedule after lobbying
      CMS approves rule to encourage value-based drug pricing
  • Data/Lists
    • Rankings/Lists
    • Interactive Databases
    • Data Points
    • Health Systems Financials
      Executive Compensation
      Physician Compensation
  • Op-Ed
    • Bold Moves
    • Breaking Bias
    • Commentaries
    • Letters
    • Vital Signs Blog
    • From the Editor
    • Wellstar CEO calls adapting for the pandemic her bold move
      Howard P. Kern
      Recognizing the value of telehealth in its infancy
      Dr. Stephen Markovich
      A bold move helped take him from family doctor to OhioHealth CEO
      Dr. Bruce Siegel
      Why taking a hospital not-for-profit was Dr. Bruce Siegel’s boldest move
    • Barry Ostrowsky
      Ending racism is a journey taken together; the starting point must be now
      Laura Lee Hall and Gary Puckrein
      Increased flu vaccination has never been more important for communities of color
      John Daniels Jr.
      Health equity: Making the journey from buzzword to reality
      Mark C. Clement and David Cook
      We all need to 'do something' to fight inequities and get healthcare right, for every patient, every time
    • Dr. Bruce Siegel
      By protecting the healthcare safety net, Biden can put us on the path to a stronger country
      Healing healthcare: some ideas for triage by the new Congress, administration
      Dr. Sachin H. Jain
      Medicare for All? The better route to universal coverage would be Medicare Advantage for All
      Connectivity: a social determinant of health that can exacerbate all the others
    • Letters: Eliminating bias in healthcare needs to be ‘deliberate and organic’
      Letters: Maybe dropping out of ACOs is a good thing for patients
      Letters: White House and Congress share blame for lack of national COVID strategy
      Letters: VA making strides to improve state veterans home inspections
    • Sponsored Content Provided By Optum
      How blockchain could ease frustration with the payment process
      Sponsored Content Provided By Optum
      Three steps to better data-sharing for payer and provider CIOs
      Sponsored Content Provided By Optum
      Reduce total cost of care: 6 reasons why providers and payers should tackle the challenge together
      Sponsored Content Provided By Optum
      Why CIOs went from back-office operators to mission-critical innovators
  • Awards
    • Award Programs
    • Nominate
    • Previous Award Programs
    • Other Award Programs
    • Best Places to Work in Healthcare Logo for Navigation
      Nominations Open - Best Places to Work in Healthcare
      Nominations Open - Health Care Hall of Fame
      Nominations Open - 50 Most Influential Clinical Executives
    • 100 Most Influential People
    • 50 Most Influential Clinical Executives
    • Best Places to Work in Healthcare
    • Health Care Hall of Fame
    • Healthcare Marketing Impact Awards
    • Top 25 Emerging Leaders
    • Top 25 Innovators
    • Top 25 Minority Leaders
    • Top 25 Women Leaders
    • Excellence in Nursing Awards
    • Design Awards
    • Top 25 COOs in Healthcare
    • 100 Top Hospitals
    • ACHE Awards
  • Events
    • Conferences
    • Galas
    • Webinars
    • COVID-19 Event Tracker
    • Leadership Symposium
    • Healthcare Transformation Summit
    • Women Leaders in Healthcare Conference
    • Workplace of the Future Conference
    • Strategic Marketing Conference
    • Social Determinants of Health Symposium
    • Best Places to Work Awards Gala
    • Health Care Hall of Fame Gala
    • Top 25 Minority Leaders Gala (2022)
    • Top 25 Women Leaders Gala
  • Listen
    • Podcast - Next Up
    • Podcast - Beyond the Byline
    • Sponsored Podcast - Healthcare Insider
    • Video Series - The Check Up
    • Sponsored Video Series - One on One
    • Carter Dredge
      Next Up Podcast: Ready, set, innovate! Innovation and disruption in healthcare
      Next Up Podcast: COVID-19, social determinants highlight health inequities — what next?
      Next Up Podcast: Saving Rural Health
      Ceci Connolly
      Next Up Podcast: How to navigate the murky post-election waters
    • An older man wearing a mask receiving a vaccine.
      Beyond the Byline: Verifying information on the chaotic COVID-19 vaccine rollout
      doctor burnout
      Beyond the Byline: How healthcare supply chain struggles contribute to employee burnout
      Beyond the Byline: Covering race and diversity in the healthcare industry
      Beyond the Byline: How telehealth utilization has impacted investor-owned company earnings
    • Leading intention promote diversity and inclusion
      Introducing Healthcare Insider Podcast
    • The Check Up: Chip Kahn
      The Check Up: Chip Kahn of the Federation of American Hospitals
      The Check Up: Trenda Ray
      The Check Up: Trenda Ray of the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences
      The Check Up: Dr. Kenneth Davis
      The Check Up: Dr. Kenneth Davis of Mount Sinai Health System
      The Check Up: Dr. Thomas McGinn
      The Check Up: Dr. Thomas McGinn of CommonSpirit Health
    • Video: Ivana Naeymi Rad of Intelligent Medical Objects
  • MORE +
    • Advertise
    • Media Kit
    • Newsletters
    • Jobs
    • People on the Move
    • Reprints & Licensing
MENU
Breadcrumb
  1. Home
  2. Government
September 20, 2016 01:00 AM

U.N. tackles antibiotic resistance as global health threat worsens

Steven Ross Johnson
  • Tweet
  • Share
  • Share
  • Email
  • More
    Print

    A rise in antimicrobial-resistant infections is in the global spotlight as world leaders on Wednesday will discuss the growing threat of a post-antibiotic world.

    The one day meeting of the United Nations General Assembly marks only the fourth time the group has met to discuss a health crisis.

    The move marks a new era of heightened urgency regarding antibiotic resistance. Health experts warned for years that overprescribing and prioritizing development of more lucrative drugs over cheap antibiotics led to an increase in “superbug” infections that are resistant to one or multiple antibiotics.

    Wednesday's meeting is the first toward developing a coordinated global plan that focuses on reducing antibiotic use while creating ways to give companies incentives to develop new drugs.

    Efforts to encourage improved antibiotic stewardship within the healthcare field has led to some successes among a number of providers.

    “In a sense, this U.N. meeting will allow the world to see just how dangerous a problem this is,” said Dr. Amesh Adalja, infectious disease expert and senior associate at the UPMC Center for Health Security.

    An estimated 700,000 people around the world die every year from antimicrobial-resistant infections, with more than 23,000 deaths and 2 million illnesses occurring within the U.S., according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

    But the problem of overuse remains a huge concern. An analysis of U.S. acute-care hospitals found a little more than one-third had stewardship programs that met all seven of the CDC's recommended elements for best practices.

    A study published in May in JAMA found 1 in 3 antibiotic prescriptions written in the U.S. was considered unnecessary for the conditions they are used to treat.

    A more recent analysis of more than 300 hospitals published Tuesday in JAMA Internal Medicine found that between 2006 and 2012, the rate of antibiotic use had not changed much over the time studied. Perhaps more disturbing was that there was a significant increase in the use of broad-spectrum antibiotics, which are considered the drugs of last resort for the worst infections.

    Adalja said that if stewardship falters, or there's not enough leadership buy-in by hospital administrators, the task will be impossible. "Every new antibiotic we discover is invariably going to be met with resistance,” he said. “It's very easy to do compared to developing new antibiotics. This is something that every hospital can do now, today.”

    But recent moves by the Joint Commission as well as the CMS aim to develop standards of practice for prescribing antibiotics. In July, the Joint Commission released a document entitled New Antimicrobial Stewardship Standard, which goes into effect Jan. 1 for acute-care and critical-access hospitals, as well as nursing-care centers, ambulatory-care organizations and office-base surgical practices.

    In June, the CMS issued a proposed rule for Medicare and Medicaid participants requiring them to have an antibiotic stewardship program in place and designate qualified infectious disease personnel to lead those programs.

    “Those two key activities that have really come down in less than the last six months have really made everyone stand at attention to ask what do they have in place for antibiotic stewardship, what do they need to get in place, and how can they be prepared for both the Joint Commission and CMS,” said Kristi Kuper, senior clinical manager of infectious disease for member-owned healthcare company Vizient.

    But reducing antibiotic prescribing within healthcare only solves part of the problem. Antibiotics, some of which are medically important to humans, continue to be fed to livestock to cure and stave off disease, or in some instances, they are used to promote weight gain in livestock without having to increase the animals' food intake.

    A report released in December 2015 by the Food and Drug Administration found that despite efforts in recent years to limit the use of antibiotics in food-producing animals, sales of such drugs for livestock increased by 3% between 2013 and 2014.

    For years, health officials have called for a multisector, multigovernmental approach to combating antimicrobial resistance. At the World Economic Forum in January, a number of the world's largest drug manufacturers signed a declaration pledging to work with governments on promoting greater antibiotic stewardship.

    But even with such commitments, the pipeline for new antibiotics remains low. An estimated 37 new antibiotics with the potential to treat serious bacterial infections are in clinical development for the U.S. market as of March, according to an analysis from the Pew Charitable Trusts.

    Only seven currently in Phase 3 trials are expected to work against gram-negative pathogens, which are multidrug resistant and considered to be among the toughest to treat. An estimated 1 out of 5 drugs that reach Phase 1 human testing win approval for use.

    But drugmakers find little incentive to develop new antibiotics.

    “I think it's an important context to remember that it costs about $1 billion to bring a drug to market,” UPMC's Adalja said. “When drugmakers try to look at what the revenue stream is from an antibiotic, if it's only going to be used for the most drug-resistant organisms, that's not very appealing to a company because it isn't something that they're going to be able to easily recoup their $1 billion investment on.”

    Letter
    to the
    Editor

    Send us a letter

    Have an opinion about this story? Click here to submit a Letter to the Editor, and we may publish it in print.

    Recommended for You
    New CDC director takes over beleaguered agency amid crisis
    New CDC director takes over beleaguered agency amid crisis
    FCC Chairman Pai on funding telehealth, 5G and the digital divide
    FCC Chairman Pai on funding telehealth, 5G and the digital divide
    Sponsored Content
    Get Free Newsletters

    Sign up for free enewsletters and alerts to receive breaking news and in-depth coverage of healthcare events and trends, as they happen, right to your inbox.

    Subscribe Today

    The weekly magazine, websites, research and databases provide a powerful and all-encompassing industry presence. We help you make informed business decisions and lead your organizations to success.

    Subscribe
    Connect with Us
    • LinkedIn
    • Twitter
    • Facebook
    • RSS
    • Instagram

    Stay Connected

    Join the conversation with Modern Healthcare through our social media pages

    MDHC_Logotype_white
    Contact Us

    (877) 812-1581

    Email us

     

    Resources
    • Contact Us
    • Advertise with Us
    • Ad Choices Ad Choices
    • Sitemap
    Editorial Dept
    • Submission Guidelines
    • Code of Ethics
    • Awards
    • About Us
    Legal
    • Terms and Conditions
    • Privacy Policy
    • Privacy Request
    Modern Healthcare
    Copyright © 1996-2021. Crain Communications, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
    • News
      • This Week's News
      • COVID-19
      • Providers
      • Insurance
      • Government
      • Finance
      • Technology
      • Safety & Quality
      • People
      • Regional News
        • Midwest
        • Northeast
        • South
        • West
      • Digital Edition
    • Insights
      • ACA 10 Years After
      • Best Practices
      • InDepth Special Reports
      • Innovations
    • Transformation
      • Patients
      • Operations
      • Care Delivery
      • Payment
    • Data/Lists
      • Rankings/Lists
      • Interactive Databases
      • Data Points
    • Op-Ed
      • Bold Moves
      • Breaking Bias
      • Commentaries
      • Letters
      • Vital Signs Blog
      • From the Editor
    • Awards
      • Award Programs
        • 100 Most Influential People
        • 50 Most Influential Clinical Executives
        • Best Places to Work in Healthcare
        • Health Care Hall of Fame
        • Healthcare Marketing Impact Awards
        • Top 25 Emerging Leaders
        • Top 25 Innovators
        • Top 25 Minority Leaders
        • Top 25 Women Leaders
      • Nominate
      • Previous Award Programs
        • Excellence in Nursing Awards
        • Design Awards
        • Top 25 COOs in Healthcare
      • Other Award Programs
        • 100 Top Hospitals
        • ACHE Awards
    • Events
      • Conferences
        • Leadership Symposium
        • Healthcare Transformation Summit
        • Women Leaders in Healthcare Conference
        • Workplace of the Future Conference
        • Strategic Marketing Conference
        • Social Determinants of Health Symposium
      • Galas
        • Best Places to Work Awards Gala
        • Health Care Hall of Fame Gala
        • Top 25 Minority Leaders Gala (2022)
        • Top 25 Women Leaders Gala
      • Webinars
      • COVID-19 Event Tracker
    • Listen
      • Podcast - Next Up
      • Podcast - Beyond the Byline
      • Sponsored Podcast - Healthcare Insider
      • Video Series - The Check Up
      • Sponsored Video Series - One on One
    • MORE +
      • Advertise
      • Media Kit
      • Newsletters
      • Jobs
      • People on the Move
      • Reprints & Licensing