Outpatient Antimicrobial Stewardship: Clinical Updates and Best Practices

Presenter: Madeline King, PharmD, BCIDP
Date: Thursday, February 25, 2027
Time: 3 pm ET | 2 pm CT | 1 pm MT | 12 pm PT 
Duration: 60 minutes

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Course Description

Outpatient antimicrobial stewardship plays a critical role in improving patient outcomes, optimizing antibiotic use, and reducing the growing threat of antimicrobial resistance. With a significant proportion of outpatient antibiotic prescriptions considered unnecessary or inappropriate, healthcare organizations must strengthen prescribing practices through evidence-based guidelines, effective clinical interventions, and ongoing monitoring. This webinar will explore the essential principles and current developments in outpatient antimicrobial stewardship, with a focus on practical strategies for improving antibiotic prescribing across primary care, urgent care, and other ambulatory healthcare settings. Participants will examine the CDC Core Elements of Outpatient Antibiotic Stewardship and the Joint Commission's requirements, including leadership accountability, evidence-based practices, educational resources, goal setting, and performance measurement. The session will review common outpatient infections, including urinary tract infections (UTIs), skin and soft tissue infections (SSTIs), and upper respiratory tract infections (URIs), highlighting recent guideline updates related to antibiotic selection, treatment indications, and recommended durations of therapy. Particular attention will be given to updated UTI treatment recommendations, shorter antibiotic treatment courses, and appropriate prescribing for respiratory infections. Additionally, participants will explore practical stewardship interventions, including provider and patient education, clinical decision-support tools, institutional prescribing guidelines, and antibiotic utilization metrics. The discussion will address common implementation challenges, strategies for improving collaboration between antimicrobial stewardship teams and ambulatory providers, and methods for evaluating program effectiveness. By emphasizing appropriate antibiotic selection, the shortest effective treatment duration, and clear patient communication, this webinar will help healthcare professionals strengthen outpatient stewardship practices, minimize avoidable antibiotic-related complications, and support efforts to reduce antimicrobial resistance.

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Learning Outcomes

• Explain the prevalence, contributing factors, and clinical consequences of inappropriate outpatient antibiotic prescribing.


• Identify common outpatient infections and clinical scenarios associated with unnecessary or inappropriate antibiotic use.


• Apply current evidence-based guidelines to determine appropriate antibiotic selection and treatment duration for common outpatient infections.


• Incorporate diagnostic stewardship principles to improve infection diagnosis and reduce unnecessary antimicrobial prescribing.


• Apply effective patient communication and shared decision-making strategies to address inappropriate expectations for antibiotic therapy.


• Interpret the CDC Core Elements of Outpatient Antibiotic Stewardship and Joint Commission expectations for implementing effective stewardship programs.


• Develop and evaluate antimicrobial stewardship interventions using prescribing metrics, quality improvement measures, and clinical outcomes.

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Areas Covered in the Session

• Regulatory and accreditation requirements for outpatient antimicrobial stewardship programs.


• Current trends in outpatient antibiotic prescribing and the prevalence of inappropriate antibiotic use.


• CDC Core Elements of Outpatient Antibiotic Stewardship and implementation strategies.


• Key prescribing challenges associated with urinary tract infections, skin and soft tissue infections, and respiratory tract infections.


• Recent clinical guideline updates for antibiotic selection and treatment of common outpatient infections.


• Evidence-based recommendations for appropriate antibiotic selection, narrow-spectrum therapy, and shorter treatment durations.


• Prescribing metrics and quality improvement strategies for monitoring outpatient antimicrobial use.


• Patient and provider education strategies to improve appropriate antibiotic prescribing.


• Evidence-based stewardship interventions, including clinical decision-support tools, electronic prescribing systems, and institutional guidelines.


• Consequences of inappropriate antibiotic use, including adverse drug events, Clostridioides difficile infection, antimicrobial resistance, and increased healthcare costs.

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Recommended Participants

• Clinical Pharmacists


• Infectious Disease Pharmacists


• Ambulatory Care Pharmacists


• Hospital and Community Pharmacists


• Physicians and Primary Care Providers


• Infectious Disease Specialists


• Nurse Practitioners and Physician Assistants


• Antimicrobial Stewardship Program Directors and Coordinators


• Pharmacy Directors and Clinical Pharmacy Managers


• Healthcare Quality Improvement and Compliance Professionals


• Clinical Quality and Patient Safety Managers

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About the Presenter  

Dr. King is an infectious diseases clinical pharmacist and Co-Director of Outpatient Antimicrobial Stewardship at Cooper University Health Care. She holds an MPH from the University of Edinburgh.

She has collaborated with the Infectious Diseases Division to develop and implement a multidisciplinary Complex Outpatient Antimicrobial Therapy (COpAT) Transitions of Care Program and is actively expanding outpatient antibiotic stewardship practices across the health system’s ambulatory care sites.

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