Offer Patients the Role of a Lifetime: Antibiotic Hero

Urgent care as a whole has been at the forefront of trying to turn around the trend of overprescribing antibiotics. The Urgent Care Association even offers an Antibiotic Stewardship Commendation to urgent care operators who meet select criteria demonstrating responsible, effective use of antibiotics, and has an online Antibiotic Stewardship Toolkit. Now the UCA’s partner on the toolkit, George Washington University, is launching a new initiative called Be an Antibiotic Hero with the Antibiotic Resistance Action Center. The program’s website is geared toward helping patients understand when they need a prescription for an antibiotic—and, perhaps more importantly, when they don’t. It asks online visitors to answer questions that assess their understanding of antibiotics and resistance in order to lower the chance of them thinking antibiotics are a “cure-all” as the website puts it. With so many patients dwelling on COVID-19, it’s likely you might encounter some who think that antibiotics will help. This is a great time to impress upon them that taking unnecessary antibiotics is not only pointless, but that it can be downright dangerous. Suggest they take a look at www.antibioticsandyou.org.