How to leverage medication use evaluations for antimicrobial stewardship goals: a primer for physicians

Medication Use Evaluations (MUEs) are structured quality improvement tools used to optimize medication use within healthcare systems. MUEs can explore safety concerns, high costs, or inappropriate use associated with any medication, among other factors. This can offer a valuable opportunity for Antimicrobial Stewardship Programs (ASPs) to promote stewardship goals, which often overlap with these concerns for specific antimicrobials. MUEs can also provide an avenue to promote interdisciplinary collaboration with targeted groups relevant to the ASP's goals as well as an opportunity to give trainees ownership of system-facing stewardship projects. Stewardship pharmacists may often have experience with leading this process as part of their training, but MUEs represent a gap in training for physicians. Here we provide guidance on how stewardship physicians can engage in the MUE process, from identifying relevant topics to interpreting findings and supporting implementation efforts, allowing them to contribute effectively even without prior MUE experience.