The Role of Antimicrobial Use and Resistance (AUR) Data
Antimicrobial Use ands Resistance (AUR) data plays a critical role in antimicrobial stewardship programs (ASPs) and national public health efforts. By tracking how antibiotics are used and how resistance patterns evolve, hospitals can promote appropriate prescribing, protect patients from unnecessary harm, and help slow the spread of antimicrobial resistance.
In addition to its clinical importance, AUR reporting is a required component of participation in certain federal quality programs. Hospitals must submit Antimicrobial Use (AU) and Antimicrobial Resistance (AR) data to the CDC’s National Healthcare Safety Network (NHSN). This supports public health surveillance, demonstrates responsible antibiotic use, and meets CMS program requirements. However, AUR reporting remains resource-intensive and difficult to sustain.
The Ongoing Challenge of AUR Reporting
While many hospitals have an AUR reporting process in place today, collecting, validating, and maintaining accurate AU and AR data can still be challenging. Common obstacles include:
- Data spread across multiple systems, including EHRs, pharmacy platforms, and laboratory systems
- Manual data extraction and validation processes that consume valuable clinical and IT time
- Limited visibility into AU and AR data beyond what is required for submission
- Difficulty ensuring ongoing data accuracy as workflows, medications, and systems change
When reporting becomes a purely administrative task, hospitals miss an opportunity to use AUR data as a strategic asset for antimicrobial stewardship and quality improvement.
Medici: Simplifying NHSN AUR Reporting
Medici was created to reduce the burden of AUR reporting while providing hospitals with unmatched access to their antimicrobial use and resistance data for deeper analysis. Medici is a turnkey, cloud-based antimicrobial stewardship solution designed to simplify NHSN AU and AR reporting. Built to simplify AU and AR reporting, Medici:
- Works with any Electronic Health Record (EHR)
- Requires no additional interface
- Allows hospitals to easily generate, export, and report AU and AR data for NHSN submission
Medici is CDC validated for both Antimicrobial Use and Antimicrobial Resistance and ONC certified for Health IT. These are requirements for CMS’ quality program to ensure reliability of submitted data.
Two Purpose-Built Modules: Antimicrobial Use (AU) and Antimicrobial Resistance (AR)
Medici includes two distinct but complementary modules that support the required reporting as well as advanced stewardship analysis.
Antimicrobial Use (AU) Module
The AU module focuses on how antibiotics are prescribed and administered. Using Medication Administration Record (MAR) data and the CDC-standard Days of Therapy (DOT) metric, Medici enables hospitals to:
- Meet NHSN AU reporting requirements
- Measure antibiotic utilization across patient populations
- Evaluate prescribing patterns and appropriateness
- Identify opportunities for stewardship intervention
By standardizing and automating AU data collection, Medici helps hospitals move beyond basic compliance toward informed decision-making.
Antimicrobial Resistance (AR) Module
The AR module supports resistance profiling by analyzing laboratory and susceptibility data. This module allows organizations to:
- Meet NHSN AR reporting requirements
- Monitor resistance trends over time
- Support empiric therapy decisions with hospital-specific resistance data
- Strengthen collaboration between stewardship teams, infection prevention, and pharmacy
Together, the AU and AR modules provide a comprehensive view of antibiotic use and resistance across the organization.
Turning Required Reporting Into Meaningful Insight
Medici does more than generate files for submission. By harnessing the power of your AU and AR data, hospitals can:
- Support safer, more appropriate antibiotic therapies
- Strengthen antimicrobial stewardship programs and processes
- Reduce manual reporting effort and reliance on spreadsheets
- Improve transparency and access to actionable data for clinical leaders
Whether you are strengthening an existing AUR reporting process or exploring new approaches to antimicrobial stewardship, Medici helps transform required reporting into meaningful insight that supports patient safety, regulatory compliance, and long-term stewardship goals.
Supporting Sustainable Antimicrobial Stewardship
Antimicrobial stewardship is an ongoing commitment, not a one-time reporting exercise. With Medici, hospitals gain a scalable, validated solution that aligns regulatory requirements with clinical value.
Connect with us to learn how Medici can support your antimicrobial stewardship practices and help you optimize AUR reporting.
