Improving antimicrobial stewardship: AmWeb, a tool for helping microbiologists in England to 'Start Smart' when advising on antibiotic treatment

Abstract

As part of an antimicrobial stewardship programme, healthcare organizations should have local antibiotic treatment guidelines in place that take account of local antibiotic resistance patterns. The current issue of JAC reports the development of an interactiveweb tool, calledAmWeb, for the local surveillance of resistance by hospital laboratories in England. The application ofAmWeb should help to both optimize the management of patients with infection and contribute to efforts to prolong the active life of antibiotics currently available for use. © The Author 2013. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the British Society for Antimicrobial Chemotherapy. All rights reserved.