Rural healthcare providers and facilities face numerous geographic obstacles to providing adequate care. Researchers showed how telehealth videoconferencing can connect remotely located VA medical centers with infectious disease experts to improve antibiotic stewardship.
The team, published Sept. 6 in Infection Control & Hospital Epidemiology, held weekly video-linked meetings at two different sites that included pharmacists, nurses and clinicians with an infection disease physician at another VA facility.
"It can be difficult for more rural facilities to employ the staff needed for infection control initiatives to work," said Robin Jump, MD, PhD, senior author of the study and physician-scientist with the Louis Stokes Cleveland VA Medical Center. "Telehealth can be a low-cost and effective way to provide facilities with the expertise needed to implement these initiatives—eliminating some of the barriers that have typically thwarted these efforts."
Those involved in the teleconferencing formed videoconference antimicrobial stewardship teams (VAST). These groups addressed 3.3 cases per hour-long session, with the two teams accepting 69.7 percent of VAST recommendations. In follow-up interviews, team members reported appreciation for the video sessions in improving antibiotic stewardship and patient care.
With as many as three in 10 antibiotic prescriptions deemed unnecessary, medical professionals recognize the need for antibiotic stewardship—both to prevent resistance and reduce adverse events.
"When antibiotic stewardship programs are left to those who are not trained to run them, they are more susceptible to issues and can ultimately be ineffective," said Lauren Stevens PhD, an author of the study, in a prepared statement. "As a result, our goal of reducing these multi-drug resistant organisms is more difficult to meet."
Nicholas joined TriMed in 2016 as the managing editor of the Chicago office. After receiving his master’s from Roosevelt University, he worked in various writing/editing roles for magazines ranging in topic from billiards to metallurgy. Currently on Chicago’s north side, Nicholas keeps busy by running, reading and talking to his two cats.