Optimizing Efficiency in Clinical Microbiology Labs: Steps to Avoid Unnecessary Tests Through Diagnostic and Antimicrobial Stewardship

In September 2021, a CDC report found that hospital-acquired infections had increased significantly in 2020 after years of steady decline. Standard infection prevention practices have been impacted by staffing shortages and chaotic work environments, which has subsequently created an environment that is susceptible for diagnostic errors. These factors indicate a troubling trend working against antimicrobial and diagnostic stewardship efforts.

As a result, hospital and healthcare system leaders are re-focusing their attention on patient safety and quality outcomes—and trying to solve the problems of blood culture contamination, which can lead to a misdiagnosis of sepsis. With those goals in mind, a new webinar from Dark Daily will focus on practical and effective solutions designed to reduce the risk of antibiotic-related infections, antimicrobial resistance, and false-positive blood cultures.

Featuring a case study and live Q&A, the webinar will review the quality improvement (QI) project of a 425-bed academic medical center. We will examine the impact of a 90% reduction in blood culture contamination rates and the direct effect on antimicrobial stewardship efforts which resulted in a 31% reduction in vancomycin days of therapy (DOT).