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Antimicrobial stewardship resources for pharmacists in BC
Since 2005 the Community Antimicrobial Stewardship (CAS) program at the BC Centre for Disease Control has worked with prescribers—including pharmacists—across the province to reduce the overuse and misuse of antibiotics. Pharmacists and pharmacy technicians play a key role in antimicrobial stewardship in the community as the main point of contact for individuals filling a prescription, and are vital in the safe collection and disposal of unused antibiotics.
New and updated resources from the CAS program are now available to assist you in your role in educating patients and confirming that antibiotic prescriptions align with latest guidelines and emerging evidence.
Free community antimicrobial stewardship continuing education course now available
A recently launched self-directed online course provides community-based practitioners with the latest evidence and treatment guidelines for the use of antibiotics in primary care, and basic principles and strategies for antimicrobial stewardship in a community setting.
The course consists of 13 short modules which can be completed on your own schedule, and is completely free of charge. It is certified for 3.5 Mainpro+ credits through the College of Family Physicians of Canada.
You can access the course now by visiting: http://antibioticwise.ca/course (Note: you need to login or create a LearningHub account).
Bugs & Drugs guide to antimicrobial therapy available free online to all BC prescribers
Bugs & Drugs is a comprehensive guide to antimicrobial therapy and an aid to wiser antibiotic use in front-line practice.
The Bugs & Drugs website resource and iPhone/Android app are:
- Free of charge for all BC prescribers through funding provided by the Ministry of Health
- Evidence-based, peer-reviewed and antibiogram directed guidelines and treatment recommendations
- Up-to-date with the latest guidelines and recommendations
The Bugs & Drugs 2.0 app is free of advertising and sponsorship bias and the content is available for download and allows for offline use. The app can be found on the Apple store and Google Play.
Bugs & Drugs offers information on:
- over 70 antimicrobials (e.g. spectrum of activity and/or dosing recommendations)
- empiric management advice (for adult and pediatric, fungal, parasitic, ophthalmic) for more than 140 clinical syndromes
- a culture-directed section for over 90 infections
- clinical significance and empirical management of 172 potential pathogens
Pharmacists may be especially interested in the shorter recommended durations of treatment for many indications as well as the empiric therapy sections on the Bugs & Drugs app or website.
Since 2005 and the creation of the Do Bugs Need Drugs? program, a 23% reduction in antibiotic prescribing has been recorded in BC. Guideline concordant prescribing is key to reduce antimicrobial resistance in community pathogens in BC, and the CAS team is grateful for your partnership in this.
Antimicrobial Utilization and Antimicrobial Resistance dashboards available on the BCCDC website
The CAS team publishes interactive dashboards with the latest data on antimicrobial utilization and resistance. Both dashboards have recently been updated with data up to and including 2019. Highlights and recent trends can be found within the Executive Summary of each dashboard.
Antibiotic Wise and Do Bugs Need Drugs? are initiatives of the BC Centre for Disease Control providing information for the public and professionals about antibiotic resistance and the proper use of antibiotics. For more information, visit www.antibioticwise.ca or follow the program on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.