Dive Brief:
- A new study suggests that hospitals aren't doing enough to prevent the spread of Clostridium difficile (C. diff).
- According to FierceHealthcare, incidents of C. diff have been on the rise; the problem has been exacerbated by antibiotic shortages.
- The researchers found that although most of the hospitals that participated in the study were taking measures like screening patients and disinfecting surfaces, almost 50% did not have sufficient antibiotic stewardship programs.
Dive Insight:
Sanjay Saint, MD, MPH, lead author of the study, told Medical Xpress that collaborations between hospitalists and infectious disease prevention specialists can help reduce overuse of antibiotics. "The doctors who prescribe most of these antibiotics, and who would have to buy in to stewardship programs, are hospitalists," Saint said. "Nationally, they're the ones we must engage with to overcome this disconnect between what people think works and what they're actually doing, and to implement stewardship programs. This is about changing physician behavior and that makes it more challenging."