D epartment
of
M edicine
Con ne c ti ng T e c h n o lo g y , Ed uca t i o n a n d D i s cove ry w ith H um anis m in Me dicine
Vol. 6, Issue 2: Apr. 2017
Good Stewards Antibiotics save lives. COMMON REASONS ANTIBIOTIC But their power to do so PRESCRIBING GUIDELINES ARE NOT is increasingly threatened with the proliferation FOLLOWED of multidrug-resistant • Inaccurate belief that non-recommended organisms (MDROs). Overuse and use of broad agents may be more likely to cure an spectrum antimicrobials infection with unnecessary double • Concern for patient satisfaction; a common coverage can profoundly damage the human method by which clinicians are evaluated microbiome, which has • Fear of infection complications and related likely contributed to the adverse outcomes proliferation of MDROs. Antibiotic stewardship promotes wise use of this resource. Dr. Shorman credits the program’s success in part to support UTMC’s antibiotic from the administration, coordination with the microbiology lab, stewardship program has been energized under the direction and having a dedicated pharmacist. Looking ahead, the team of Dr. Mahmoud Shorman. The objectives of the program hopes to add another pharmacist and to begin using a clinical are three-fold: to optimize outcomes for patients who need surveillance system to monitor patients and protect them from antibiotics, to prevent collateral damage to patients’ microbiome, infections, drug interactions and other adverse events. and to reduce costs. “The goal is to get the right antibiotic on Now that the Joint Commission is requiring all its accredited board early, to use it as long as needed, and to stop as soon as it hospitals to have an antibiotic stewardship program, expertise is no longer needed,” says Dr. Shorman. Rapid testing to identify in this area is well sought after. UTMC’s highly qualified specific pathogens, autostop orders, and reassessing patients’ stewardship team will provide greater ability to optimize allergies to antibiotics are among the program’s initiatives. The antibiotic use and enhance care for all patients. plan is to incorporate these into the sepsis bundle, which will optimize that pathway.
Points of View
and more a matter of serial clicks. We are rapidly becoming a profession of “clickers.” However, mouse clicks are not as harmless as they seem. They could certainly be harmful if we perchance click on the wrong chart, the wrong medicine, or the wrong dose. Moreover, a single mouse click could delete a lot of important material (often accompanied by loud shouts of dismay from the user!) Thus, clicking the mouse is not merely a physical act, but the information being clicked has to be rapidly processed by the brain, and the correct choices have to be made. The ability to do things fast also means our brains have to process this information at ever increasing speeds. The demand for constant attention can be stressful because our brains are not meant to process information rapidly over extended periods of time. Nevertheless, despite all these “issues,” I feel really handicapped without my trustworthy mouse to point and click. Protest seems futile and I, for one, am resigned to keep “clicking” my way through life.
Computers have become such an integral part of our lives. As physicians, we seem to be spending an ever increasing proportion of our day in front of computer screens performing repetitive tasks. One of these repetitive tasks involves the computer mouse. Mouse clicks are supposed to make our life easier and expedite our work. If you are like me, Rajiv Dhand, MD, Chair you probably perform hundreds if not thousands of mouse clicks daily. In fact, I have never counted them because it is supposed to be a mindless, subconscious activity. You may have heard the oft repeated phrase, “It only requires a few more mouse clicks.” Entering data in the electronic medical records is now more 1