Issue link: https://beckershealthcare.uberflip.com/i/1368868
51 QUALITY IMPROVEMENT & MEASUREMENT Pew sets national targets to reduce inappropriate antibiotic prescriptions By Erica Carbajal T he Pew Charitable Trusts established national targets for improving antibiotic use in hospitals based on CDC research that found 55.9 percent of antibiotic prescriptions for hospitalized patients were inappropriate. e findings were published March 18 in JAMA Network Open. Researchers focused on the prescription of vancomycin treatment, fluoroquino- lone treatment, antibiotics for community-acquired pneumonia or urinary tract infection. Among 1,566 patients who received the antibiotics across 192 U.S. hos- pitals, the prescriptions were unsupported for 55.9 percent of patients, according to the analysis. Among antibiotics for CAP, 79.5 percent of prescriptions were inappropriate. For UTIs, nearly 77 percent of prescriptions were inappropriate. Unsupported prescrip- tions were defined based on the specific antibiotic prescribed and the treatment duration, among other factors Based on the findings, the Pew Charitable Trusts set the following national targets meant to slow the spread of antibiotic resistance: • Reduce inappropriate antibiotic prescribing for CAP and UTIs by 90 percent • Reduce inappropriate prescribing for fluoroquinolone and vancomycin by 95 percent Pew's report outlined a number of strategies to meet these targets, including encour- aging hospitals to report antibiotic use to the CDC, and using existing quality-based reimbursement programs from public and private insurers to incentivize high-quality antimicrobial stewardship programs. n Black patients have less access to 'high quality' hospitals, analysis finds By Erica Carbajal B lack adult patients were less likely to be admitted to hospitals considered "high quality" for several patient safe- ty indicators compared to white patients, according to an Urban Institute analysis published March 29. The research, funded by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, used 11 patient safe- ty quality indicators to assess the state of racial disparities in the quality of inpatient care. In addition to the quality indicators, re- searchers used hospital discharge records from 2,347 hospitals across 26 states. Of the 11 patient safety quality indicators eval- uated, four were related to general patient safety and seven were related to surgical procedures. Three findings: 1. In six of the 11 patient safety indicators, five of which were surgery-related, Black patients experienced worse quality of care compared to their white counterparts. 2. Black patients were less likely to be ad- mitted to "high quality" hospitals, or those best at minimizing patient safety risks, com- pared to white patients. Across the seven surgery-related safety indicators, Black patients were 7.9 percentage points more likely to be admitted into "low quality" hos- pitals, and 4.9 percentage points less likely to be admitted to hospitals with high pa- tient safety measures. 3. When analyses were limited to patients with Medicare coverage, there were no sig- nificant differences in patient safety mea- sures between Black and white patients. "Lack of access to high quality care due to systemic racial inequity drives worse health outcomes for Black individuals in the Unit- ed States," Mona Shah, PhD, senior pro- gram officer at the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, said in a news release shared with Becker's. "There needs to be a greater focus on supporting policies that help ad- dress racial inequities." n Joint Commission, Kaiser launch care equity award in memory of Bernard Tyson By Mackenzie Bean T he Joint Commission and Oakland, Calif.-based Kaiser Perma- nente on March 4 unveiled an annual healthcare equity award in memory of Bernard J. Tyson, Kaiser's late chair and CEO. The Bernard J. Tyson Award for Excellence in Pursuing Health Care Equity will recognize healthcare organization interventions that led to a mea- surable and sustained reduction in at least one healthcare disparity. This year's nomination period will run from May 17 to July 5. "Bernard Tyson was a leader and advocate for healthcare equity and challenged other leaders to do the same. I am sure he is smiling his biggest smile at the thought of this award and how it will support health equity," Greg A. Adams, chairman and CEO of Kaiser, said in a March 4 news release. Mr. Tyson spent 34 years at Kaiser, becoming its first Black CEO in 2013 and chair in 2014. He died in his sleep Nov. 10, 2019. n