Best Practice Proposal to Enhance Application of the Standardized Antimicrobial Administration Ratio (SAAR)

Description A core element of hospital antibiotic stewardship programs is the tracking of outcomes. It is recommended that hospitals do this by reporting to the National Healthcare Safety Network (NHSN) Antimicrobial Use (AU) Option. With this, hospitals can access the Standardized Antimicrobial Administration Ratio (SAAR) for various antibiotic groupings and locations. While there are benefits to the SAAR, several limitations reduce the interpretation and utility of SAAR values. In particular, the SAAR cannot inform users of antimicrobial appropriateness. This article describes an antimicrobial days of therapy (DOT) report that was developed by a tele-stewardship infectious diseases pharmacist. This article proposes that a DOT report, such as the one described, is used in combination with SAAR values to better assess where improvements in antimicrobial prescribing are needed and track the progress of interventions. If not reporting to the NHSN AU Option, this type of report can help meet antimicrobial stewardship standards from The Joint Commission.