The health care community has made a concentrated effort to improve the safe and appropriate use of antibiotics through Antibiotic Stewardship Programs. These programs encourage providers to consider a range of factors before they prescribe an antibiotic including:
- Does this patient have an infection that will respond to antibiotics?
- Is the patient on the right antibiotics, the right dose, and the right route of administration?
- How long should the patient receive the antibiotic?
The answers to these questions can help create a clearer clinical picture, inform more targeted therapy decisions, and reduce the threat of AMR. But how do doctors obtain this information? One way is through smart diagnostics.
AdvaMedDx represents companies that manufacture innovative, safe and effective in vitro diagnostic tests and technologies that facilitate evidence-based medicine, improve quality of patient care, promote wellness, and enable early detection of disease. The organization advocates every day for policies that advance the power of diagnostic tests improve patient outcomes. AdvaMedDx companies have delivered an array of diagnostic tests to help collect the clinical and laboratory data doctors need to optimize treatment and reduce the administration of unnecessary antibiotics. Some of these tests are rapid, point-of-care tests, meaning diagnostic results can be ready almost immediately.
It is important that both patients and providers are educated on these diagnostic solutions and can access them. That is why, AdvaMedDx – alongside several member companies – announced a public commitment through the CDC’s AMR Challenge to bolster its efforts in support of robust antibiotic stewardship programs informed by diagnostic data.
The CDC introduced the AMR Challenge as a way for governments, private industries, and non-governmental organizations to work together to accelerate the fight against AMR. The CDC is a world leader in the fight against AMR and has spearheaded the development of a comprehensive infrastructure to detect, respond, contain, and prevent resistant infections. Through the AMR Challenge, that infrastructure will see event greater investment.
As part of its CDC AMR Challenge commitment, AdvaMedDx will identify and advocate for policies that encourage the appropriate use of diagnostics in the health care system. AdvaMedDx will also push for improvements to the innovation ecosystem to incentivize research and development into more rapid, more intelligent diagnostics techniques to combat AMR.
AdvaMedDx Executive Susan Van Meter said in a recent statement on the AMR Challenge, “In the fight against AMR, everyone has a part to play.” AdvaMedDx is proud to play its part. Are you ready to play yours?
Use the social media graphics below to share your commitment to the fight against AMR. Together, we can tackle this growing threat to global health.
View more information about AdvaMedDx’s AMR Challenge commitment here. View more about the AMR Challenge here.