Intervention and Acceptance Rates Support Handshake-Stewardship Strategy.

Area of Science:

• Infectious Diseases
• Clinical Pharmacy
• Healthcare Management

Background:

• Antimicrobial resistance necessitates effective antimicrobial stewardship programs.
• Traditional stewardship methods may have limitations in intervention acceptance and scope.
• A collaborative pharmacist-physician approach can enhance stewardship effectiveness.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate a novel pharmacist-physician team-based antimicrobial stewardship strategy.
• To assess the acceptance rate and impact of "handshake stewardship" interventions.
• To determine the influence of physician involvement on intervention outcomes.

Main Methods:

• Implementation of a "handshake stewardship" program involving in-person review of all antimicrobial agents.
• Communication of interventions by a dedicated pharmacist-physician team.
• Tracking of intervention acceptance rates and types of antibiotics addressed.

Main Results:

• The handshake stewardship approach demonstrated a high acceptance rate of 86%.
• Intervention rates were significantly higher when a physician was involved in the communication.
• The program frequently identified and addressed interventions for antibiotics not covered by other stewardship strategies.

Conclusions:

• Handshake stewardship is an effective antimicrobial stewardship model with high acceptance.
• Physician engagement is crucial for maximizing intervention rates in stewardship programs.
• This collaborative approach broadens the reach of stewardship to include previously unaddressed antimicrobial agents.