Implementing antimicrobial stewardship in the Australian private hospital system: a qualitative study.

Conclusions Provision of advice from experts, championing by clinical leaders, marketing by hospital executives and involving nurses, pharmacists and patients should be considered during implementation of AMS in private hospitals. What is known about the topic? Hospital-wide AMS programs have been shown to be an effective means to address the problem of accelerating antimicrobial resistance. However, current literature predominantly focuses on evaluation of AMS activities rather than on improving implementation success. In addition, most research on hospital AMS programs is from the public hospital sector. AMS is now part of new National Safety and Quality Health Service accreditation standards mandatory for all Australian hospitals; however, uptake of AMS in private hospitals lags behind public hospitals. Australian private hospitals are fundamentally different to public hospitals and there is more information needed to determine how AMS can best be introduced in these hospitals. What does this paper add? Further investigation on how AMS can be implemented into private hospitals is urgently required. The qualitative work detailed in the present study provides a means of tailoring AMS strategies on the basis of organisational factors that may be considered unique to Australian private hospitals. What are the implications for practitioners? Clinical and hospital executive stakeholders in the private hospital sector will be able to use solutions presented herein as a blueprint ...
Source: Australian Health Review - Category: Hospital Management Authors: Tags: Aust Health Rev Source Type: research