Antibiotic Stewardship

Urgent Care providers make clinical prescribing decisions for over 210 million patients each year. However, around 30% of antibiotics prescribed in outpatient settings are unnecessary, according to the CDC.

The Urgent Care Association, along with the College of Urgent Care Medicine (CUCM) and Urgent Care Foundation (UCF), are committed to Antibiotic Stewardship in Urgent Care — to help achieve the strategic objectives of the World Health Organization (WHO) global action plan for addressing antimicrobial resistance (AMR)..

U.S. Antibiotic Awareness Week Is November 18-24, Annually

Urgent Care is dedicated to Antibiotic Stewardship.

The Experts Behind UCA Antibiotic Stewardship

Antibiotic Stewardship Supporters

Interested in how you too can become an ABS Industry Partner? Contact Cindy Simpson.

In 2018 the UCA | CUCM | UCF undertook a longitudinal Antibiotic Stewardship (ABS) Initiative to ensure we play our part in supporting providers and operators in addressing ABS. The initiative focuses on addressing five key objectives through fostering a culture of quality within the Urgent Care industry; developing guidance and resources to create and strengthen stewardship programs; and leading collaboration across Urgent Care stakeholders.

Antibiotic Stewardship Commitment – Read It. Sign It. Live It.

Sign as an organization, healthcare worker or individual who is ready to assist in combating this global issue.

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Antibiotic Stewardship Commendation

The Antibiotic Stewardship Commendation is a quality program that recognizes Urgent Care centers’ commitment to responsible prescribing practices for antibiotics. Participants must comply with the Core Elements of Outpatient Antibiotic Stewardship program developed by the CDC.

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U.S. Antibiotic Awareness Week (USAAW)

USAAW is an annual observance that raises awareness of the threat of antibiotic resistance and the importance of appropriate antibiotic use. This week aligns with the WHO World Antimicrobial Awareness Week, an annual global campaign to improve awareness and encourage best practices.

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CDC Resources

About Antibiotic Use

Antibiotic / Antimicrobial Resistance (AR / AMR)

Clinician Training (CDC TRAIN) – 9 Modules – 8 hours

Core Elements of Antibiotic Stewardship

Cu rrent Stewardship Report

Healthcare Professional Resources and Training

Patient Resources and Education

Join These Organizations In the Commitment to ABS

Accordion Urgent Care for Children
Peterson Urgent Care
LevelUp MD Urgent Care
The Urgent Care
Treasure Coast Medical Associates, Inc.
MedStar Health Urgent Care
WellNOW Urgent Care
Piedmont Urgent Care
DOC-AID Urgent Care Center
Primary Urgent Care
Peninsula Urgent Care, LLC.
Doctors On Duty Medical Clinics
IMA
Renown Health
Lansing Urgent Care
Reliant Immediate Care
Primary Urgent Care
Doctors Care
Intermountain Healthcare
Little Spurs Pediatric Urgent Care
Vybe Urgent Care
Doctors Urgent Care
AFC Urgent Care in Newark
Statesboro Urgent Care
PhysicianOne Urgent Care
Fast Pace Urgent Care
Vital Med Urgent Care
VitalMed Urgent Care
Vail Health
Banner Urgent Care Services
Northwell Health GoHealth Urgent Care
Jupiter Medical Center Urgent Care
Urgent Care Now
Xpress Wellness Urgent Care
Safe Care Express PLLC
Patient Care Now Urgent Care
Tower Health
TeamHealth
Urgent CAre Now NJ
Fast Track Urgent Care
St. Joseph Hospital, Milford Medical Center Urgent Care
Piedmont Urgent Care by Wellstreet
TeamHealth Ambulatory Care
Arlington Urgent Care
Integrity Urgent Care
East County Urgent Care
Yubadocs Urgent Care
American Family Care
Imperativecare Inc
ConvenientMD
Premier Health
Urgent Care Work Care
Kaweah delta Urgent Care
CityMD
Parkview FirstCareContent

Other Resources

ABS Patient Education – Social Media Post

ABS Public Commitment Statement – Editable Poster

Antibiotic Stewardship Toolkit from CUCM (For clinicians, practice managers, and patients)

CALUCA Town Hall: ABS & On Demand Medicine—Threats, Trends, and Take home Solutions

Dialogue Around Respiratory Illness Treatment (DART) – iMTR

How to Say No to Antibiotics

Incorporation of Antibiotic Stewardship in Your Urgent Care Practice – Webinar Recording

Narrow- versus Broad-Spectrum Antibiotics for Common Infections in Children (Evidence updates from PCORI)

Preparing for What’s Next: Monkeypox, COVID-19, and Antibiotic Stewardship – Webinar Recording

Questioning the Yelp Effect: Mixed Methods Analysis of Web-Based Reviews of Urgent Cares

When Antibiotic Experts Say No to Antibiotics

When to Say No to Antibiotics for Infections

World Health Organization (WHO) Antimicrobial Resistance website

Antibiotic Stewardship Initiative Objectives:

Improve awareness of ABS in Urgent Care teams and patients.

Improve understanding of ABS in Urgent Care teams and patients.

Strengthen the evidence base of Urgent Care data.

Strengthen the knowledge base in Urgent Care medicine and operations.

Optimize the use of antimicrobial medicines in Urgent Care patients.

UCA | CUCM | UCF are pursuing these objectives with distinct levels of action.

Fostering a culture of quality within the Urgent Care industry

Developing guidance, resources to strengthen stewardship programs

Leading collaborations and engagements with Urgent Care stakeholders

5-year ABS grant project with the CDC (2020 – 2025)

UCA 2023-2025 Antibiotic Stewardship Initiative Timeline

2023

CDC Grant

In the third year of the CDC grant, the UCA with the support of ARAC, is leading an ABS Quality Improvement program for UCA member centers.

Resources

Learning Center:

Continue adding ABS knowledge to the Learning Center library

Webinar:

Host a webinar on ABS prescribing best practices.

Stewardship

Accreditation: ABS Standards: Audit of the UCA Accreditation quality improvement standards for Antibiotic Stewardship

ABS Champion Recognition: Re-launch the leadership recognition program.

Engage

Patient Education Resources: Collaborate with industry partners to distribute patient education resources directly to Urgent Care centers.

Benchmarking: Conduct a benchmarking study to establish metrics on current industry prescribing rates.

Feedback: Launch a member feedback survey to discover continuing gaps to ABS implementation.

2024

CDC Grant

The UCA continues activities for its 5-year federal award with the CDC.

Resources

Webinar series: UCA will host a webinar series to provide guidance and resources for clinician support in antibiotic stewardship practices.

New Product: Announce launch of new products to support Urgent Care centers in implementing sustainable ABS programs with tools to monitor and report progress.

Monitor and Track: Develop Clinician Report card and supporting resources for monitoring and tracking antibiotic prescribing.

Monitor and Track: Develop metric and algorithm for Urgent Care data collection on antibiotic prescribing.

Stewardship

ABS Champion Recognition: Expand the leadership recognition program to recognize outstanding providers supporting ABS.

Publish Industry Data: UCA and CUCM to publish the results from the CDC ABS Quality Improvement program.

Engage

Benchmarking: Complete benchmarking study to establish high-priority diagnoses for improvement to prescribing practices.

Patient Education Resources: Expand partnership with industry leaders to distribute patient education resources directly to Urgent Care centers.

Feedback: Launch a member feedback survey to discover challenges and opportunities for data-management solutions for ABS.

2025

CDC Grant

The UCA continues activities for its 5-year federal award with the CDC.

Resources

Product Launch: Launch new products to support Urgent Care centers in implementing sustainable ABS programs with tools to monitor and report progress.

Webinar Series: UCA will host a webinar series to provide guidance and resources for organizational leadership to support antibiotic stewardship practices.

Stewardship

Clinician Support: For those implementing ABS programs, develop guidance for clinicians to submit for MOC credit.

ABS Champion Recognition: Promote participation in ABS Champion recognition programs.

Engage

Industry Data: From member feedback, share with industry partners identified customer pain points and opportunities in software and data management for ABS.

Technology Approach: Identify partners to assist with EMR data extraction for smaller centers performing manual collection.

Advocacy: Identify advocacy opportunities to support Payor incentive for ABS quality performance.

Feedback: Collaborate to distribute patient survey on antibiotic stewardship perceptions to identify more specific barriers and gaps to patient awareness.

UCA 2026-2027 Antibiotic Stewardship Initiative Timeline

2026

CDC Grant

The UCA completes activities for its 5-year federal award with the CDC.

Resources

Product Availability: Promote availability of product package to support Urgent Care centers in implementing sustainable ABS programs with tools to monitor and report progress.

Webinar Series: UCA will host a webinar series to provide guidance and resources for clinician support in antibiotic stewardship practices.

Stewardship

ABS Champion Recognition: Expand the leadership recognition program to recognize outstanding centers supporting ABS.

Publish Industry Data: Publish results of patient perception benchmarking.

Advocacy

Advocacy: Incorporate support for Payor incentive for ABS quality performance into advocacy strategy.

Benchmarking: Conduct follow-up benchmarking study to measure industry progress.

Monitor and Track: Collaborate to develop methodology for capturing ROI in sustaining a culture of quality around ABS.

Patient Education Resources: Expand partnership with industry leaders to distribute patient education resources directly to Urgent Care centers.

2027

Resources

Training: Launch partner education to support integrating ABS into provider and MA onboarding.

Webinar Series: UCA will host a webinar series to provide guidance and resources for organizational leadership to support antibiotic stewardship practices.

New Product: Launch tools for capturing ROI in sustaining a culture of quality around ABS.

Learning Center: Evaluate library of resources and tools to refresh content and identify gaps to address.

Stewardship

ABS Champion Recognition: Evaluate and refresh all tracks of ABS Champion recognition programs.

Publish Industry Data: Publish results of 2023 – 2026 benchmarking on the status of industry antibiotic prescribing patterns, as a whitepaper and online reference.

Advocacy

Advocacy: Incorporate support for Payor incentive for ABS quality performance into advocacy strategy.

Patient Education Resources: Collaborate with industry partners to launch comprehensive, updated campaign to promote education and awareness among patients on antibiotic use and resistance.

UCA Accomplishments in Antibiotic Stewardship to date:

2016

Launched ARAC Partnership

Launched partnership with Antibiotic Resistance Action Center (ARAC) at the Milken Institute School of Public Health at George Washington University.

2018

Established ABS Committee

Produced ABS Toolkit

Produced Antibiotic Stewardship Toolkit based on CDC Core Elements of Outpatient Antibiotic Stewardship (OABS).

ABS Summit with CDC

Summit in partnership with CDC in Atlanta, GA.

AMR Summit with CDC

Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR) Summit in partnership with CDC in Houston, TX.

Participation in United Nations AMR Challenge

Educational Webinars

Creation of Educational Webinars for clinical leadership, Enduring Materials – ongoing annually.

2019

Created Commitment to ABS Program

Collaboration with SPUC

Collaboration with Society of Pediatric Urgent Care (SPUC) and ARAC, on ABS in Pediatric Urgent Care.

ABS Summit with CDC

Summit in partnership with CDC in West Palm Beach, FL.

ABS Required in Accreditation

Added ABS as required element of UCA Accreditation.

ABS Commendation Established

Established ABS Commendation Program for Urgent Care centers.

2022

Awarded CDC Grant

Awarded multi-year grant from CDC to address ABS in Urgent Care.

Quality Improvement Project

Quality Improvement Project, expanding on 2019 SPUC, ARAC, CDC Collaboration.

2022

ABS Toolkit Update

Antibiotic Stewardship Toolkit update with COVID-19 guidance.