In this episode we address the role of digital health in managing antimicrobial resistance. We hear about antibiotic resistance in the mainstream media. It pops up on the news now and then, people talk about it and then things go back to the way they were. Patients still demand their antibiotics, hospitals and clinicians lack the solutions to have effective oversight to make changes, and the problem grows.

Today, resistant bacteria causes about 50,000 deaths per year in Europe and the US. To address this urgent problem, various bodies have put together standards and programs to improve the use of medications. For example, in the US, the Joint Commission has implemented an Antimicrobial Stewardship Standard which just came into effect on January 1, 2017. But no matter where you are, people and protocols alone can’t fully address this problem: We need tools to collect and compare data and provide actionable information on the use of antimicrobials.

Here to talk to us about this massive problem is Dr. Brandon Palermo, he’s the chief medical officer of ILÚM Health Solutions. ILÚM Health Solutions was recently launched by Merck’s Healthcare Services & Solutions (HSS). It is an enterprise-wide infectious disease management service, which enables improved outcomes by delivering real-time information from across the health system. That information helps providers in their patient management decisions and supports program improvement.

Brandon believes that a key contributor to this issue is the lack of timely and actionable clinical information at the point of care, and he tells us how technology can help.

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