Antibiotic Stewardship Program
Critical Access Hospitals (CAHs) Antibiotic Stewardship Programs are required by the Federal Office of Rural Health Policy and are part of your eligibility for receiving Medicare Rural Hospital Flexibility (Flex) funded activities along with a Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) Conditions of Participation (CoP) ruling. As of September 2019 (this rule was originally proposed in June 2016), CAHs were given six months to develop and implement their programs. The CoP rule 482.42 and 485.640 is still in place. Our team at the University of North Dakota Center for Rural Health Flex Program has been tasked with providing technical assistance in the development and implementation of Antibiotic Stewardship Programs throughout the state.