Journal of the American Medical Directors Association
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Multidrug-resistant organisms are an emerging and serious threat to the care of patients. Long-term care facilities are considered a reservoir of these organisms partly because of the over-prescribing of antibiotics. Antibiotic use is common in long-term care facilities. Antibiotic stewardship programs have been shown to reduce antibiotic consumption in acute-care facilities. The purpose of our study is to investigate existing infection-control practices and antibiotic stewardship programs in long-term care facilities in Maryland. ⋯ Antibiotic stewardship programs in long-term care facilities are still in early development stages, but our results demonstrate that the majority of facilities are collecting data on prescribing antibiotics, and a surprising number have antibiotic approval and antibiotics prescribing training.