Antibiotics Matter: Ethical Questions about Antibiotic Stewardship

This webinar will explore ethical considerations of appropriate antibiotic prescribing of public health, primary care and specialist physicians, where there may be perceived tension between duty to individual patients and duty to avoid overuse of antimicrobials.

Antimicrobial resistance is an increasing threat to population health and can be devastating for patients. There is evolution of a coordinated approach to AMR: there is more information available for patients and prescribers (www.antiobioticawareness.ca) to educate and guide, and health authorities and governments are starting to invest more in their antimicrobial stewardship efforts. This can leave some physicians unsure about what is best for their patients.

Our presenter, Dr. Lynora Saxinger will explore the ethics of antimicrobial stewardship, including how this is framed by national physician societies, and offer some current and evolving strategies to help balance practitioners’ concerns, such as whether they will be held accountable for any harm from withholding treatment, or fears of doing something ‘new’ or non-normative among their colleagues.

Following this webinar, participants will be able to:

• • Describe the evolution of antimicrobial resistance globally and in Canada
  • Evaluate some of the ethical issues posed by AMR both broadly (current and future risk, issues of distribution of resources) and in specific physician patient interactions including considerations for appropriate prescribing for infectious diseases
  • Propose strategies to mitigate concerns from patients and colleagues when asked to make changes to prescribing habits
  • Demonstrate enhanced CanMEDS competencies (particularly Professional, Communicator, Advocate, Leader, Collaborator) in areas of antimicrobial resistance, appropriate prescribing and stewardship, health advocacy and professionalism

  Participants will have a chance to discuss problems and practical  issues in an interactive Q & A session following the presentation. Registrants are invited to submit questions of interest prior to the webinar to S.M. Zeeshan Qadar at sheikh.qadar@umanitoba.ca.

Dr. Lynora Saxinger, Associate Professor, Medicine, Division of Infectious Diseases, University of Alberta

Dr. Lynora Saxinger is an Infectious Diseases specialist whose clinical practice includes HIV, Hepatitis C, nontransplant immunocompromised hosts, and Travel and Tropical Medicine. She is co-Chair of the Alberta Health Services Antimicrobial Stewardship Committee, and is Chair of the Antimicrobial Stewardship and Resistance Committee of AMMI Canada, involved in national stewardship initiatives to promote best practices in antibiotic use. Areas of research interest include antimicrobial utilization, epidemiology of antimicrobial resistance, and derivation of stewardship best practices.

Moderator:  Margaret Haworth-Brockman (NCCID)

This program meets the accreditation criteria as defined by the Maintenance of Certification program of the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada and has been accredited by the Office of Continuing Professional Development, Faculty of Medicine, McGill University for up to a total of 7.5 Section 1 credits (1 Section 1 credit/webinar).
Through an agreement between the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada and the  American Medical Association, physicians may convert Royal College MOC credits to AMA PRA Category 1 Credits™. Information on the process to convert Royal College MOC credit to AMA credit can be found at www.ama-assn.org/go/internationalcme.

Each physician should claim only credit commensurate with the extent of their participation in the activity.