Tele-antimicrobial Stewardship Program wins Community Health Leadership Award

The UW Tele-antimicrobial Stewardship Program (TASP-ECHO) has received the 2018 Community Health Leadership Silver Award from the Washington State Hospital Association (WSHA).

The Community Health Leadership Awards are presented to health care organizations that are serving their community’s broader health needs in innovative and lasting ways.

Many health care organizations and regulatory bodies have called for a national plan of action to slow the emergence of antibiotic-resistant bacteria. Because this can be challenging for many small or rural hospitals, the UW launched a tele-antimicrobial stewardship program (TASP) to share its expertise.

Launched in 2017, half of Washington’s critical access hospitals now participate in TASP.

The core of the program is a weekly hour-long virtual meeting, which includes a brief didactic and discussion of submitted cases. The program’s website is also a rich source of information, and the expert panel is available outside of the weekly meetings for more urgent questions.

Department of Medicine TASP faculty and staff include Drs. John Lynch, Chloe Bryson-Cahn, and Paul Pottinger and program manager Natalia Martinez-Paz.