White House Forum on Improving Antibiotic Use Announced

The White House announced that more than 150 stakeholders are participating in a “White House Forum on Antibiotic Stewardship” to improve antibiotic stewardship in key animal and human health constituencies.

As part of the forum, over 150 food companies, retailers, and human and animal health stakeholders will highlight their commitments to implement changes to reduce drug-resistant bacteria and prevent the spread of resistant bacteria over the next five years. Examples of the stewardship commitments include:

• The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), with other Health and Human Services (HHS) agencies, will provide data about antibiotic use and prescribing trends in order to improve antibiotic use in the future and cut inappropriate prescribing by 50% in doctors’ offices and 20% in hospitals.
• Healthcare systems representing thousands of hospitals, long-term acute care facilities, and skilled nursing centers are committing to establishing or expanding stewardship programs across their locations to improve prescribing.
• Major food producers are committing to phasing out giving unnecessary antibiotics to animals, and food retailers, like grocery stores, are committing to providing more antibiotic-free options to their consumers.
• Drug store and drug companies are committing to integrating the CDC’s stewardship principles into programs that provide free or reduced-price antibiotics to patients.