Antibiotic Smarts Week Is Here

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has kicked off its third annual “Get Smart About Antibiotics Week”, a time to reflect on practical ways that clinicians and health consumers can reduce the rates of antibotic resistance.

The campaign’s three main goal are to promote adherence to appropriate prescribing guidelines among providers, decrease demand for antibiotics for viral upper respiratory infections among healthy adults and parents of young children, and increase adherence to prescribed antibiotics for upper respiratory infections.

A wide variety of campaign-related free media are available for clinicians to use in their practices, from printable brochures about proper antibitoic use and one-page information sheets to posters and treatment guidelines for upper respiratory tract infections, one geared for adults and one for children. A number of related podcasts and videos geared to health consumers are also available.

The effort’s home page can be accessed here.  Happy campaigning!