The Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) announced on Tuesday that its national Antimicrobial Stewardship Program (ASP) pilot project was featured in JAMA Network Open, a prestigious international medical journal, on January 29.
The ASP initiative aims to optimize antibiotic use by implementing dedicated management teams to oversee the appropriateness of antibiotic prescriptions within healthcare facilities. The program officially launched in November 2024, targeting general hospitals with over 301 beds and tertiary care centers.
Participating hospitals must establish multidisciplinary teams, including physicians and specialized pharmacists, to conduct ASP activities. These teams are tasked with developing antibiotic use guidelines, reviewing prescription appropriateness, monitoring antibiotic use and resistance patterns, and educating medical staff. A key feature of the program is the direct oversight of the antibiotic management committee by hospital leadership, ensuring the successful implementation of ASP infrastructure and activities.
JAMA Network Open, with a journal impact factor of 10.5, is a highly respected medical publication of the American Medical Association. Its rigorous peer-review process lends significant credibility to articles in public health and healthcare policy. The KDCA emphasized that the publication of this paper represents international recognition of the innovative nature and policy validity of Korea’s ASP model.
Antibiotic resistance is listed among the World Health Organization’s top ten global health threats. With increasing antibiotic consumption and insufficient development of new antibiotics, the significance of ASP in minimizing resistance and improving treatment outcomes has become more critical than ever.
Despite this, many countries still rely on voluntary antibiotic management by healthcare institutions. Even where institutional support exists, it often focuses on indirect incentives through performance-based rewards. This approach has limited the proactive and systematic implementation of ASP in healthcare settings with constrained resources, including personnel and finances.
The Korean ASP pilot project has drawn international attention as a government-led model for policy integration. It stands out for establishing operational standards and providing financial support to build ASP infrastructure within healthcare institutions. Given the global focus on optimizing antibiotic use and the ongoing importance of antibiotic stewardship, this initiative is considered timely and crucial, potentially serving as a blueprint for similar programs worldwide.
The published paper provides a comprehensive overview of Korea’s ASP pilot project, detailing its policy background, design structure, operational framework, initial outcomes, and future directions. It represents a collaborative effort between government officials and clinical policy experts from the healthcare sector. The paper also addresses challenges ahead, including the shortage of specialized personnel and disparities in capabilities among healthcare institutions.
KDCA Commissioner Lim Seung Kwan stated that the publication demonstrates Korea’s commitment to actively addressing antibiotic resistance on the global stage. He added that the success of the ASP pilot project hinges on collaboration between the healthcare sector and the government, and urged medical professionals to take a more active interest and participate in the initiative.