Implementation of Core Elements of Antimicrobial Stewardship in Outpatient Settings

This grant, provided by Illinois Department of Public Health, is geared toward reducing inappropriate antibiotic prescription at Northwestern Medicine Immediate Care Centers. Reducing inappropriate antibiotic prescriptions is critical to combating antibiotic resistance, an urgent public health threat that is recognized by both the World Health Organization and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) as contributing to an estimated 1 million deaths per year. This grant will be used to develop programs reinforcing the importance of judicious antibiotic prescribing behavior in accordance with the CDC's Core Elements of Antimicrobial Stewardship in Outpatient Settings. Subsequently, an implementation package will be developed for delivery to Heartland Alliance, a network of federally qualified health centers (FQHCs) that provides primary and urgent care to Chicago's underserved communities. Overall, the proposed program will improve care of individual patients and public health at large.