As an antibiotic steward, the Urgent Care Association (UCA) is committed to educating patients and the community about the role each of us can play in the responsible prescribing of antibiotics.
As part of this cause, the UCA in July partnered with the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), along with our industry partner of three years, the Antibiotic Resistance Action Center (ARAC), to host an Antibiotic Stewardship Summit to discuss best practices for antibiotic prescribing in on-demand care. The meeting included industry representatives from the College of Urgent Care Medicine (CUCM) and the Urgent Care Foundation, as well as clinical and operational leaders of the urgent care industry, electronic medical record (EMR) providers/vendors and the payer community.
Earlier that month, CUCM released an antibiotic stewardship toolkit highlighting best practices for on-demand healthcare providers to exercise when prescribing antibiotics. This toolkit will assist providers develop and implement internal antibiotic stewardship policies. The resource is available to anyone in the industry at no cost, and you can find the toolkit here: www.ucaoa.org/antibioticsteward.
To continue these important discussions, the UCA and the Urgent Care Foundation are planning another antibiotic stewardship summit in conjunction with the UCA Urgent Care Fall Conference from October 12-14 in Houston.
The UCA has actively participated in antibiotic
stewardship efforts over the years and is committed to providing ongoing advocacy,
education, research, collaboration and high standards of excellence for the
on-demand healthcare community. The urgent care sector is growing and sees an
estimated 160 million patient visits each year, so it is more important than
ever to continue to lead antibiotic stewardship efforts by developing and implementing
evidence-based practices that will contribute to preserve the effectiveness of
antibiotics for future generations.