Antimicrobial stewardship (AMS) is the coordinated set of activities NSW Health hospitals and health services use to optimise antimicrobial use. The aim is to improve patient care, slow the development of antimicrobial resistance, and reduce harm from inappropriate prescribing.
Effective AMS programs are built on three practices:
- Avoid antimicrobials where there is no evidence of benefit.
- Use narrow spectrum therapy where possible and keep broader-spectrum agents in reserve.
- Prescribe the correct dose and limit duration to what the evidence supports.
Supporting AMS in NSW Health
We work with local health districts and specialty health networks to:
- follow antibiotic therapeutic guidelines (available via the Clinical Information Access Portal)
- use NSW Medicines Formulary restrictions and approval systems for antimicrobials
- monitor and give feedback on antimicrobial prescribing
- use information from clinical microbiology laboratories to guide quality use of antimicrobials.
Surgical antibiotic prophylaxis
Reduce inappropriate antibiotic use around surgery.
Antibiotic allergy
Assess, verify and de-label penicillin and other antibiotic allergies to support better treatment options.
IV to oral antibiotic switch
Resources and guidance on switching to oral antibiotics safely and on time.
Antimicrobial stewardship improvement toolkit
Plan and run a quality improvement project on antimicrobial use.