Monitoring Progress

Future progress for all VA programs related to healthcare-associated infections (HAIS) will be easier with the introduction of a comprehensive electronic surveillance system to monitor organism resistance trends. The Spring 2011 edition of Public Health Matters, published by VA’s Public Health Strategic Health Care Group, notes that, while VA healthcare facilities are already paying a tremendous amount of attention to monitoring antimicrobial stewardship programs, these programs are able to address concerns only at the facility level. “With its national formulary and fully electronic health record, VHA is in position to create the first national, integrated antimicrobial stewardship program,” say the article’s authors.

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