Antibiotic resistance has emerged as a major threat to our ability to treat common outpatient infections. During the 1990s, resistance to penicillin among invasive pneumococcal isolates, increased more than 3-fold to 27%. Inappropriate use of antibiotics is one of the reasons for this dramatic rise. This use endangers the patient who is taking the antibiotic as well as the wider community. During the past 5 years, many interventions have been implemented throughout the country to decrease inappropriate prescribing and halt or reverse the rising trend in antibiotic resistance. Small scale interventions involving managed care organizations and larger scale interventions involving rural communities have succeeded in decreasing inappropriate antibiotic use for respiratory infections. Many of these campaigns have used educational materials developed by CDC and available on the internet (http://www.cdc.gov/antibioticresistance/). Productive partnerships have been forged between clinicians, the public health community, health care purchasers and insurers, managed care organizations, non-profit organizations and industry. It is clear from these campaigns that to be successful, messages must be directed at health care providers and patients. Currently CDC is supporting statewide campaigns in more than a 15 states. National data indicate that inappropriate prescribing and overall outpatient antibiotic use have declined significantly in the past 5 years, perhaps in part from these efforts. The Public Health community has a key role to play in combating this major public health threat. See www.mi-marr.org, www.cdc.gov
Learning Objectives: Viewers of this session will understand a variety of approaches used to address antimicrobial resistance.
Keywords: Antibiotic Resistance, Antimicrobial Drugs
Presenting author's disclosure statement:
Organization/institution whose products or services will be discussed: None
I do not have any significant financial interest/arrangement or affiliation with any organization/institution whose products or services are being discussed in this session.