Antimicrobial resistance has become a critical concern for healthcare organizations worldwide. One national health system recognized this challenge early, tackling antibiotic overprescribing head-on. By adopting Sentri7, a cutting-edge antimicrobial stewardship program (ASP) tool, the health system achieved remarkable results: a quarterly cost reduction of over $80,000 in antibiotic spending and measurable improvements in patient care. Here’s a closer look at their journey and key takeaways from their success.
The challenge: Reducing antibiotic prescribing and managing rising costs
Antibiotic overuse has long been a primary factor driving antimicrobial resistance, leading to complications such as severe infections, complications, longer hospital stays, and increased mortality rates. One Sentri7 customer—a large, national health system—was aggressively addressing concerns about antibiotic overprescribing in its hospitals. The system director of pharmacy operations over its Central and Eastern Regions had assessed several hospitals’ current antimicrobial stewardship practices to meet the CMS Antimicrobial Stewardship Program (ASP) requirements and align with evidence-based guidelines.
After reviewing the hospital’s Sentri7 clinical surveillance alert frequency, one small community hospital stood out as it was prescribing two broad-spectrum antibiotics at rates that far exceeded even the network’s largest academic teaching hospital. Each quarter, the hospital was ordering more than $82,000 worth of ceftaroline and tigecycline.
“We were not meeting our goal of using the most appropriate drug for the right bug(s),” said the System Director of Pharmacy. “I saw an opportunity to improve how our clinical team was prescribing these two high-cost antibiotics.”
Reducing antibiotic prescribing using real-time data and collaboration with Sentri7
After identifying the issue, the pharmacy director utilized advanced real-time data insights from Sentri7 to create a targeted solution.
- Custom rules and alerts: A new rule was developed within Sentri7 to monitor the prescribing frequencies of ceftaroline and tigecycline. Real-time alerts enabled the director to identify instances of potential overprescribing immediately.
- Benchmarking and provider feedback: Benchmarking reports compared prescribing behaviors across hospitals in the network, providing valuable context for improvement opportunities. With this data, the pharmacy director collaborated with the ASP lead pharmacist at the community hospital to educate providers on evidence-based antibiotic selection.
“Improving antimicrobial prescribing is critical to the long-term success of a hospital’s antimicrobial stewardship program and reducing adverse events and infections associated with antibiotic use. Working with the hospital’s providers. My goal was to help them understand current treatment guidelines and to show them their prescribing patterns compared to other providers in our health system. Sentri7 reports were very useful in helping the providers understand the need to change their anti-infective agent prescribing practices.”
The results: Cost savings and patient-centric outcomes
In just one year, significant improvements were achieved:
- Reduced costs: Antibiotic spend at the community hospital plummeted from over $82,000 per quarter to less than $8,000 per quarter, resulting in projected annualized savings of $300,000.
- Improved stewardship: The use of broad-spectrum antibiotics declined, replaced by more appropriate, cost-effective alternatives for both empiric and post-culture treatments.
- Sustained progress: The hospital ownership of the new prescribing practices ensured long-term adherence to stewardship goals without the need for continuous external monitoring.
“Sentri7’s ability to normalize data across different electronic health record platforms allows me to see things that individual hospital administrators don’t have time or the technological ability to see. It aggregates our data into a centralized dashboard so I can easily share key metrics and benchmarks with key team members accountable for the success of their hospital’s antimicrobial stewardship program. That real-time view also helps us make changes to our prescribing quickly, which is key to making a bigger impact on patient and clinical outcomes,” said the director.
Key takeaways for AMS leaders
The success of this national health system underscores the importance of combining technology with interdisciplinary collaboration to achieve stewardship goals. Here’s what AMS leaders can learn:
- Utilize real-time data analytics: Identifying trends as they emerge enables timely and effective stewardship interventions.
- Empower collaboration across teams: Consistent communication between pharmacists and clinicians fosters a culture of accountability in antimicrobial prescribing.
- Adopt a scalable approach: Tools like Sentri7 provide flexibility to monitor prescribing patterns across multiple facilities, ensuring alignment with system-wide ASP goals.
Adopting technology in healthcare facilities that simplifies data analysis and compliance reporting can radically enhance AMS performance. Sentri7’s evidence-based capabilities delivered substantial cost savings and improved patient outcomes while aligning with regulatory requirements, proving that empowered stewardship is both achievable and sustainable.
"Sentri7 has standardized what we put in front of leadership and clinical teams for important initiatives, allowing us to focus on impactful interventions quickly. It enhances patient care and decreases our drug spend for those hospitals; thereby, positively impacting our financial performance." - System Director of Pharmacy
