The Case for Consultant Pharmacists as Key Players in Nursing Home Antibiotic Stewardship Programs

In 2016, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services issued new Conditions of Participation for nursing homes that required them to establish an antibiotic stewardship program as part of their broader infection prevention and control program.1 The US Centers for Disease Control (CDC) recommends making the medical director, director of nursing, infection preventionist, and consultant pharmacist all accountable for antibiotic stewardship activities.2 In reality, the responsibility of day-to-day antibiotic stewardship usually falls on the nursing home infection preventionist.