Table 3.
Example Core Centralized Antimicrobial Stewardship Lead Responsibilities
| Category, n (%)a | Subtheme |
|---|---|
| Developing and implementing antibiotic stewardship policies and practices, 19 healthcare organizations (95%) | Create and disseminate antimicrobial-stewardship related policies |
| Create and disseminate antimicrobial stewardship guidelines | |
| Design and implement EHR tools and changes | |
| Design and implement 3rd party decision support software | |
| Manage the antimicrobial formulary | |
| Communication and education, 18 healthcare organizations (90%) | Lead committee meetings |
| Present to system leaders and clinical groups | |
| Provide written communication to the health system | |
| Develop and maintain and antimicrobial stewardship website | |
| Design education materials | |
| Development of validated data streams, 16 healthcare organizations (80%) | Identify key antimicrobial stewardship metrics and develop data infrastructure |
| Develop and maintain a dashboard | |
| Perform initial and annual data validation | |
| Building and leading a stewardship community, 15 healthcare organizations (75%) | Develop a community of antimicrobial stewards |
| Advocate for AS resources | |
| Facilitate alignment and build relationships with stakeholders and other clinical groups. | |
| Provide training, mentorship, and coaching | |
| Manage antimicrobial stewardship personnel | |
| Travel to sites and conduct site visits | |
| Provision of subject-matter expertise, 11 healthcare organizations (55%) | Answer clinical, patient-related questions |
| Lead regular conference calls for sites to access antimicrobial stewardship and infectious diseases experts | |
| Assist with the design of antimicrobial-related changes or stewardship interventions | |
| Strategic planning and goal setting, 7 healthcare organizations (35%) | Assist with local goal selection |
| Strategic planning and system- or network-level goal setting | |
| Miscellaneous activities of note | Lead or support antimicrobial stewardship research |
| Set the system standard to provide consistency and reduce variation |
Abbreviation: EHR, electronic health record.
a
The number of healthcare organizations who described the following category of activities when asked about the core activities of their centralized stewardship program during the focus groups, as shared by the pharmacist lead, physician lead, or both.