PACCARB urges approval of hospital antibiotic stewardship requirement

The Presidential Advisory Council on Combating Antibiotic Resistant Bacteria (PACCARB) brings to attention a critical issue that, if not immediately addressed, would undermine the collective U.S. government effort in combating antibiotic resistance (AR). There is a critical need for mandatory, not voluntary, implementation of Antibiotic Stewardship Programs (ASPs) in the nation’s hospitals to curtail the over-prescription of antibiotics–a lead cause in the rise in antibiotic-resistance. PACCARB urges the immediate finalization of the proposed Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) conditions of participation (CoP) rule, in advance of the upcoming June 2019 deadline. This rule requires the adoption of Antibiotic Stewardship Programs in hospitals, especially critical access hospitals (CAHs), to help reduce the daunting overtreatment of patients with unnecessary broadspectrum antibiotics, and thereby, improve the care of patients receiving the appropriate antibiotics.