Antimicrobial stewardship (AMS)
Definition:
- Antimicrobial stewardship (AMS) refers to the systems and processes applied to a population to optimize the use of antimicrobial agents.
- The populations referred to here may be a nation, region, hospital, or a unit within a health-care organization (e.g. ward or clinic).
AMS aims:
- to improve patient outcomes and
- to reduce antimicrobial resistance (AMR).
Elements of AMS:
- treatment guidelines,
- antimicrobial formularies and
- ward rounds by infection specialists.
Relatio:
- IPC and AMS complement each other (Fig. 6.14).