During the COVID-19 pandemic, there were notable differences in hospital-acquired infections (HAIs) and antimicrobial use, as both were reported in medical literature and public health venues. This webinar focuses on the observed surge capacity issues during the pandemic and summarize the available medical literature on HAIs and antimicrobial/diagnostic stewardship issues that were highlighted during the pandemic. The second half of the webinar focuses more on insights from key opinion leaders from two health care systems that discuss the changes in cross functional antimicrobial/diagnostic stewardship and infection prevention programs, which also affect administrative efforts in these regulated areas. Our speakers highlight process improvement areas and drug utilization and resistance issues that arise in surge capacity situations during a pandemic or yearly influenza seasons. Though given the unprecedented experiences, leadership and resiliency surfaced to the top to help drive change and process improvement.
