Geographic Medicine and Infectious Diseases

Antimicrobial use has been increasing steadily in long term care facilities, with consequent increases in the prevalence of antimicrobial-resistant pathogens.  Antibiotic stewardship programs have been proven to decrease the development of antibiotic resistance, reduce  C. difficile infection rates, improve patient outcomes, and reduce costs. Now, all health care facilities, regardless of size, are required to have Antibiotic Stewardship Programs by the Joint Commission and the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services has proposed a similar requirement.

To help other hospitals, our Tufts Medical Center Experts in Antimicrobial Management (TEAM) program can provide your organization with: 

• Providing mandated education to your care teams
• Applying data analytics to assess your current prescribing patterns
• Identifying opportunities for more effective and less costly antibiotic usage
• Partnering with your organization and provide full development, implementation, and management of your own antimicrobial stewardship program.  
• Regular review of your teams’ performance using established metrics
• Working collaboratively with you to develop your own individualized policies and protocols
• Consulting with your care teams regarding individual cases

Antimicrobial stewardship has been a passion for the Geographic Medicine and Infectious Diseases team at Tufts MC for many years and we would welcome the opportunity to share with you directly how we can instill that same passion (and results) at your organization.

Why Tufts MC?

At Tufts Medical Center we have experienced firsthand the benefits of antimicrobial stewardship and have fine-tuned our program to optimize antibiotic regimen protocol selection. With decades of expertise in infection control and years of impressive outcomes managing antibiotic selection we are now excited to offer our services to organizations across New England. 

Highlights of Tufts MC Experts in Antimicrobial Management (TEAM) program

Our Antimicrobial Stewardship program is one of the oldest and most established in the country.

• We consistently performed better than national benchmarks in our antimicrobial utilization
• We serve as an expert resource to other programs trying to establish themselves. 
• We have been asked by the Massachusetts Department of Public Health to assist in state-wide Antimicrobial Stewardship efforts
• Our program has also served as an model for other programs over the years, with coveted features like the annual publication of our 70-page Antimicrobial Guidebook and integration of information technology into our practice.