The primary aim of this study was to assess the feasibility of using electronic pharmacy dispensing data extracted from RxSolution® for the surveillance of outpatient (ambulatory) antibiotic consumption and monitor antibiotic prescribing practices at district and provincial hospitals in public health facilities in North West Province, South Africa, between April 2013 and March 2015. This … Read more
Technical Program Update: Combating Antimicrobial Resistance with Stronger Health Systems
Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is one of the world’s most pressing and urgent global health threats— one that could erode the current progress against tuberculosis (TB), malaria, HIV/AIDS, and many other infectious diseases. AMR poses an enormous threat to the safety and feasibility of complex surgeries and procedures like organ transplantation and chemotherapy, but could also … Read more
Systems-based Approaches to Improving Medication Adherence
With the shift from a disease landscape that focuses on the treatment of acute and short-term illnesses to one that faces an increasing burden of chronic diseases that may require life-long medicine use, the role of medicines in ensuring a healthy population is more important than ever. However,even when medicines are available, patients may not … Read more
Improving Infection Prevention and Control Practices at Health Facilities in Resource-Limited Settings: SIAPS Technical Report
Infection prevention and control (IPC) is essential to reduce the spread of health facility-acquired (nosocomial) infections, including drug-resistant ones. The USAID-funded Systems for Improved Access to Pharmaceuticals and Services (SIAPS) Program’s goal in global technical assistance in IPC is to reduce the development and spread of nosocomial infections and antimicrobial resistance. This contributes to an … Read more
Containing Antimicrobial Resistance to Realize the Goals of Universal Health Coverage
Joshi MP. Containing antimicrobial resistance to realize the goals of universal health coverage. Oral presentation at the Ecumenical Pharmaceutical Network (EPN) Forum 2016, Tubingen, Germany. May 18-21, 2016.
Call to Action: Combat Antimicrobial Resistance and Preserve Antimicrobials for Future Generations
Delegates at the Ecumenical Pharmaceutical Network (EPN) Forum 2016, agreed upon and issued a Call to Action against antimicrobial resistance during the biannual meeting, held 18-21 May 2016, in Tubingen, Germany. EPN, a partner of the USAID-funded SIAPS Program, issued the renewed call to action with support from SIAPS and other partners. While antimicrobial resistance has … Read more
Country and regional level advocacy and coalition-building against antimicrobial resistance
Joshi, M.P.; Andualem, T.; Phulu, B.; Mpundu, M.; Ludman, M. Country and regional level advocacy and coalition-building against antimicrobial resistance. Oral presentation at the 143rd American Public Health Association (APHA) Annual Meeting and Expo, Chicago, IL, USA.
Ensuring Access to and Appropriate Use of Medicines for iCCM: It takes a system
Briggs J, Joshi MP, Yeager B, Diarra S. Ensuring access to and appropriate use of medicines for iCCM: It takes a system. Oral presentation at the 143rd American Public Health Association (APHA) Annual Meeting and Expo, Chicago, IL, USA. November 3, 2015.
Medicine Use Evaluations: A strategy for therapeutics committees to monitor the use of antiretroviral medicines and medicines for opportunistic infections
This manual is intended to assist therapeutic committees (TCs) in monitoring medicine use in their health facilities through regular medicine use evaluations (MUEs). The manual lists and describes the various steps involved in conducting an MUE. It also: describes the conditions of rational use of medicines (RUM) describes the extent and nature of the inappropriate … Read more
August 2015 SIAPS/SCMS/BLC Newsletter
In this issue: Launch of Infection Prevention and Control Manuals, Creating Awareness on Antimicrobial Resistance and Rational Medicine Use Building the Supply Chain Capacity to Extend Health Services to the Community High Employer Satisfaction with Pharmacist Assistants Trained by the NHTC: A Tracer Study Reveals Improving Availability of ARVs at Primary Health Care Facilities in HIV/AIDS-Burdened Regions in Namibia Improving the Supply Chain Efficiency of Medical … Read more