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CMS has issued its long awaited Conditions of Participation.  They are requiring all hospitals to have implemented an antibiotic stewardship program within 6 months of the final rule.

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SIDP co-sponsors two sessions at IDWeek October 2-6, 2019 in Washington DC.

The first session is entitled "Experience and Challenges with Vancomycin Monitoring by AUC" with speakers  William L. Musick, PharmD and Jennifer Le, PharmD, MAS, moderated by Jason Pogue, PharmD, BCPS, BCIDP and Vincent Tam, PharmD.

The second session is entitled "Optimizing PK/PD of New Antibiotics Against MDR Organisms" with speakers Marc H. Sheetz, PharmD, MSc, Kamilia Abdelraouf, PhD, Alexander Lepak, MD, moderated by Vincent Tam, PharmD, and Elizabeth Hirsch, PharmD.

SIDP and the Infectious Diseases PRN co-sponsor a focus session entitled "Power Gaps in Stewardship: Decision Making for Diagnostics and Transitions of Care" with speakers John A. Bosso, PharmD, FCCP, FIDP, Nick Mercuro, PharmD, and Stephanie Harding, PharmD, BCPS-AQ ID with moderator Whitney J. Nesbitt, PharmD at the ACCP Annual Meeting October 26-29, 2019 in New York, NY.

Learn More about this session and how to attend the ACCP Annual Meeting

In August, SIDP partnered with Pharmacy Times through their Strategic Alliance Program. Though this partnership, SIDP will extend its mission to a broader pharmacist audience and expand its educational offerings. Additionally, an SIDP member will serve on the Pharmacy Times advisory editorial board.

Learn more about this partnership

SIDP signed on to a letter of support, along with the  American Academy of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology and 14 other organizations, encouraging the FDA to.expedite the approval of products that can be used for penicillin skin testing.

The letter can be accessed here

The Strategies to Address Antimicrobial Resistance (STAAR) Act was reintroduced by Senator Sherrod Brown (D-OH). Additional information on the bill will posted when it is available at www.congress.gov . Similar to the DISARM Act, SIDP has signed on to a letter of support with other infectious diseases organizations for both bills.

 

CMS Published their Finalized FY2020 Inpatient Prospective Payment System (IPPS) Ruling on August 2^nd.  Although there were no new incentives for antimicrobial stewardship, they did increase the new technology add-on payment (NTAP) for certain antimicrobials from 50% to 75%. In addition, there is a new ID rapid diagnostic test that met the criteria for an NTAP payment. CMS is also finalizing an alternative NTAP pathway for antimicrobials with a Qualified Infectious Diseases (QIDP) designation. The pre-publication version is available here but a concise summary is available here.

However, despite the lack of mention of ASP in the IPPS ruling, CMS did announce in June that the timeline has been extended by 1 year for publication of the long-awaited Conditions of Participation requirements for antibiotic stewardship programs in acute care and critical access hospitals including critical access hospitals. This deadline has been extended given extensive feedback received by individuals and professional societies including SIDP. It is now anticipated the final rule will be published on or before June of 2020. Read the full update at the link here

The joint commission released Medication Management Standard 09.01.03 on June 20^, 2019 that requires antibiotic stewardship in ambulatory health care. These standards require Joint Commission-accredited ambulatory health care organizations that routinely prescribe antibiotics to identify a stewardship leader, develop annual goals to improve prescribing, develop local evidence-based guidelines, provide educational resources to all staff, and collect and report data related to stewardship goals. This standard goes into effect January 1, 2020.

Thanks for a great webinar! We had 127 registered and 80 attendees.

The recorded webinar and slides can also be viewed on the LearningCE.

Merging Microbiology and Stewardship: Making the Most of 2019 CLSI Updates on Antimicrobial Susceptibility Testing in your Stewardship Activities,  A Home Study CE Webinar for Pharmacists and Laboratory Professionals 

This annual webcast provides updates on hot topics related to antibiotic stewardship and microbiological testing. This year’s webcast includes recent CLSI antimicrobial susceptibility testing updates for gram positive and gram negative bacteria. Ways to incorporate these changes in your antimicrobial stewardship efforts are also discussed.

Cost: $35  (fee waived for SIDP Members with code in email)

To participate in this activity and for full information, see:
http://www.proce.com/activities/activity_detail?id=891