NICE Guideline: Antimicrobial stewardship: systems and processes for effective antimicrobial medicine use

‘Antimicrobial stewardship: systems and processes for effective antimicrobial use’ (NG15) provides good practice recommendations on systems and processes for the effective use of antimicrobials.  The guideline is aimed at all health and social care practitioners (including GPs, dentists, pharmacists and community nurses), commissioning and provider organisations, and aims to reduce inappropriate prescribing of antibiotics.

The main recommendations are designed to promote and monitor sensible antimicrobial use through stewardship teams to review prescribing and resistance data and to provide feedback, education, and training to prescribers.  Specific guidance is given on clinical assessment and documentation of diagnosis, obtaining microbiological samples, delayed prescribing, and taking time to discuss with patients the likely cause of their symptoms.

NICE Bites (September 2015) provides a summary of recommendations from the NICE guidance.

NECS Briefing for Commissioners (September 2015)provides an executive summary of the key points arising from NG15 in relation to medicines optimisation.