ABSTRACT
“Antimicrobial Stewardship” is the optimal selection, dose, and duration of an antimicrobial that results in the best clinical outcome for the treatment or prevention of infection, with minimal toxicity to the patient and minimal impact on subsequent resistance. Optimizing antimicrobial use can be viewed as a strategy to enhance patient safety. A report suggests that the cost of introducing a medicine to clinical practice approaches $900 million. To insure a return on its investment, the pharmaceutical industry spent $9 billion in 2001 to market drugs, including antimicrobials, to physicians and consumers. The involvement of Infectious Disease physicians offers the antimicrobial stewardship programs (ASP) a level of expertise that insures the credibility of the program and facilitates its acceptance with physicians and other providers. Nurses are patient advocates who share many of the same goals addressed by the ASP—more efficient delivery of health care that results in improved patient outcomes.
