The Essential Role of Clinical Microbiology in Antimicrobial Stewardship

A Collaborative Effort to Improve Patient Safety and Outcomes

Clinical microbiology laboratories play a vital role in the success of antibiotic stewardship programs. In order for institutions to develop effective programs, however, they need to learn how to construct committees that work effectively with microbiology labs so they may deliver on the overarching program goals.

In this P.A.C.E.-accredited Fisher Healthcare webinar, you’ll learn how to align with microbiology labs to provide better guidance and support for antibiotic stewardship programs. A lack of alignment can prevent investment in new methods, access to new therapeutics, and effective management of the most critically ill patients.

Collaboration between stewardship programs and microbiology labs can improve patient safety and outcomes, particularly in critically ill patients. It can do so by helping ensure susceptibility testing data is used to optimize treatment decisions, which can help reduce the adverse effects of treatment and shorten the length of patient hospital stays.

Learning Objectives

This webinar will help you:

1. Discuss the role the microbiology lab should play to help ensure the success of antimicrobial stewardship programs
2. Identify core elements of microbiology laboratory testing and reporting that promote stewardship
3. Illustrate how microbiology lab data can positively influence clinical decisions
4. Describe the antimicrobial therapy challenges critically ill patients pose for stewardship stakeholders

Watch on Demand       Download Slides (PDF, 2.1MB)

For research use only. Not for diagnostic procedures.

This webinar is produced by Whitehat Communications, a provider of continuing education programs in clinical laboratory sciences that has been approved by the ASCLS P.A.C.E.™ Program. One P.A.C.E. credit hour will be provided for this complimentary, basic-level program.

Romney M. Humphries, PhD, D(ABMM), M(ASCP)

Dr. Romney Humphries is a Professor of Pathology, Microbiology, and Immunology and the Medical Director of the Microbiology Laboratory at the Vanderbilt University Medical Center. She is a nationally recognized expert in antimicrobial susceptibility testing for antimicrobial resistance (AMR). Her focus areas include improving the speed and accuracy of identifying antibiotic-resistant bacteria infecting patients, investigating novel resistance mechanisms, and evaluating therapeutics designed to treat critical infections.