Building capacity for AMS committees and teams to improve appropriate use of antibiotics at district hospitals
The AMS committees and teams played critical roles in implementing AMS activities, especially for improvement on appropriate use of antibiotics, at hospitals.
In 2021-2022, the AMS committees and teams with hospital leaders and key clinical doctors and pharmacists with detailed roles and responsibility for each member were established at 12 district hospitals in Ha Noi and Ca Mau. The AMS committees and teams started to develop workplans for better implementation of AMS activities and were supported to introduce the treatment guidelines for common viral and bacterial infections to all hospital doctors and pharmacists for their compliance.
The guidelines were compliant with the National Guidelines and reviewed and contributed from international and national experts on infectious diseases for both adults and pediatrics.They act as standards to evaluate antibiotic prescriptions in terms of guideline compliance and optimal choices at the hospitals by AMS team in their monthly review and independent audits by national experts with great practical experiences.
The experts were from Bach Mai hospital, National pediatrics hospital, Hanoi Medicine University hospital, Hanoi University of Pharmacy, Viet Xo Friendship hospital, Can Tho Medicine and Pharmacy University hospital and Can Tho Hoan My hospital. Training on treatment guideline and how to select medical charts and evaluate antibiotic prescriptions with reference to the guidelines, using an evaluation form, were provided to AMS committees and teams at 12 district hospitals by those experts on infectious diseases and clinical pharmacy for both adults and pediatrics.
The national experts and the AMS teams together reviewed the medical charts and provided feedbacks to clinical doctors on their antibiotic use to build up capacity of the AMS teams and the doctors. Evaluation of antibiotic prescriptions independently conducted by international experts on infectious diseases were provided in the forms of individual case review and synthesis reports to national experts, AMS committees and teams for constructive capacity building. The AMS committees reviewed by the AMS teams’ monthly evaluation of antibiotic prescriptions at clinical wards and announced and gave an award to the best ward to encourage appropriate use of antibiotics at the hospitals.
