The Joint Commission’s new Antimicrobial Stewardship Standard for hospitals, critical access hospitals and long-term care facilities is slated to take effect on Jan. 1, 2017.
Debra A. Goff, PharmD, FCCP
The standard comes at a critical point: The CDC reports that each year in the United States, at least 2 million people become infected with resistant bacteria, and at least 23,000 patients die each year as a direct result of these infections. Meanwhile, the rate of development of