Firstline

05/17/2024

🎉 Firstline is delighted to announce a project to deliver Canada’s first official national antimicrobial prescribing guidelines in collaboration with Public Health Agency of Canada and AMMI Canada 🇨🇦.

The project will deploy Firstline’s advanced digital platform to facilitate AMMI’s work in localizing the World Health Organization (WHO)'s AWaRe system and antibiotic book for Canadian use, and deliver those guidelines to healthcare providers right at the point of care.

Every healthcare provider, across all clinical settings, plays a critical role in antimicrobial stewardship.

By integrating these guidelines seamlessly into everyday medical practice, Firstline will enable healthcare professionals to make informed, evidence-based decisions that are vital for effective patient care. This effort not only underscores Firstline’s technological capability but also our dedication to enhancing clinical outcomes.

In Canada, AMR currently claims thousands of lives and costs billions of dollars annually. Therefore, this project is not just about developing guidelines; it’s about safeguarding the future of healthcare, ensuring that life-saving medical interventions remain effective, and ultimately, saving lives.

11/28/2023

🤱 “The overarching goal is to enhance the knowledge base across the state, particularly among healthcare providers in rural communities, and increase access to life-saving pediatric treatment recommendations.”

We're honored to be working with Children’s Hospital Colorado & Denver Health on this partnership.

"Our partnership, aimed at sharing specialized knowledge with healthcare providers who may have varying levels of experience in diagnosing children or updated treatment recommendations for all patients, represents a significant stride in healthcare advancement," says Dr. Sarah Parker, medical director of antimicrobial stewardship at Children's Hospital Colorado.

Children's Hospital Colorado, Denver Health and Firstline work to 'revolutionize' infectious disease guidance

11/24/2023

The fight against is a collective effort 🫶

THANK YOU to all the for your commitment to safeguarding antimicrobials and protecting our communities.

United, we strengthen our ability to combat this critical issue! 💙🙌 http://firstline.org/ambassador

05/09/2023

We are celebrating at Firstline!

🏥 This week, we honor our hospitals, health systems, and healthcare workers for their innovative and dedicated support in connecting and uplifting their communities.

So far, 400+ hospitals and healthcare organizations have adopted Firstline to disseminate evidence-based clinical guidelines that are completely customizable and easily localized.

✅ Let's continue to empower our healthcare heroes and work together to make a lasting impact in our communities.

04/18/2023

🔬 A new study on early antibiotic switch!

The ESCMID - Clinical Microbiology and Infection Journal recently published a compelling study by Cornelia B. Landersdorfer, Amanda Gwee, and Roger L. Nation emphasizing the substantial benefits of transitioning from intravenous (IV) to oral antibiotics earlier in treatment.

Key benefits include:
1️⃣ Shorter hospital stays
2️⃣ Decreased healthcare costs
3️⃣ Fewer IV-related complications

The research challenges the perceived barriers to an early IV to oral antibiotic switch, revealing that many of these barriers may not be as significant as previously believed.

📚 Let's embrace these findings and explore adopting early antibiotic switches in appropriate cases:
https://buff.ly/3ohB6k9

Traditionally, there has been a common belief that ongoing intravenous (IV) antibiotic therapy is superior to an early IV to oral switch, especially for severe infections. However, this may be at least partly based on early observations rather than robust, high quality data and contemporary clinical...

04/13/2023

A recent British Journal of General Practice study reveals the connection between doctor burnout and a rise in opioid & antibiotic prescriptions in England.

💊 Dr. Maria Panagioti, the study's principal investigator says: “More and more research studies in other countries find that GPs who feel burnt out often decide to overprescribe drugs, which in the long term could harm instead of cure patients.”

✅ That's where Firstline comes in. Our app helps healthcare providers follow institution-specific guidelines with ease. In fact, 88% of surveyed providers agreed that Firstline saves them time, and a whopping 99% would recommend it to their colleagues.

➡ Learn more: https://buff.ly/3mTYXWz
🔬Article: https://buff.ly/3UyDv66

Background: Prescribing of strong-opioids and antibiotics has important implications for patient safety. General Practitioner (GP) wellness can affect the overprescribing of both medications in primary care. Aim: To examine the associations between strong opioid and antibiotic prescribing with pract...

04/12/2023

Are we ready for a Post-Antibiotic World?
🎥 Science journalist Donna Lu explains the origins of superbugs, the alarming reality of a post-antibiotic future, and potential solutions in this short video by The Guardian
https://buff.ly/406oD01

To help address this critical challenge, Firstline has joined forces with World Health Organization (WHO) providing health professionals worldwide with FREE access to the most up-to-date antibiotic prescribing knowledge.

➡ The WHO AWaRe Antibiotic book empowers healthcare professionals in the fight against , guiding them towards the most appropriate antibiotics for their patients: https://buff.ly/3KUiO1l

'Imagine if golden staph, tuberculosis or urinary tract infections couldn’t be fixed with medication,' asks science journalist Donna Lu. 'Well, treatment-resistant types of each condition already exist'

04/11/2023

🎉 We're thrilled to announce that King's Daughters Medical Center has joined Firstline to distribute their clinical guidelines! This partnership demonstrates their commitment to optimizing patient care through up-to-date, evidence-based guidelines.

With Firstline, King's Daughters Medical Center healthcare professionals now have instant access to customized, easy-to-use guidelines at their fingertips.

Explore their guidelines here: https://buff.ly/414RP8X

04/05/2023

A recent report from The Pew Charitable Trusts highlights the alarming connection between improper antibiotic prescribing and increased healthcare costs, as well as the risk of severe complications: https://buff.ly/3U9RjnD

At Firstline, we're here to help you enhance your antimicrobial stewardship program by:
✅ Boosting adherence to evidence-based guidelines
💊 Reducing antibiotic resistance rates
💰 Cutting down on healthcare costs

We're dedicated to supporting your efforts to optimize antibiotic use by promoting guideline adherence and appropriate prescribing practices.

➡ Discover how Firstline's tailored solutions can empower your stewardship program by visiting our website: https://buff.ly/3mdl2iI

Inappropriate antibiotic prescribing in doctors’ offices and other outpatient settings in the U.S. is a widespread problem that accelerates the spread of antibiotic-resistant bacteria. Among privately-insured patients diagnosed with common bacterial infections 31-36% of children received an inappr...

04/03/2023

🚨 World Health Organization (WHO) raises concerns about the lack of antibiotics in the drug development pipeline. "There is a major gap regarding products addressing multidrug-resistant pathogens, such as Acinetobacter baumannii and Pseudomonas aeruginosa," says Valeria Gigante, Ph.D. from the WHO Antimicrobial Resistance Division in Geneva. Read the full article: https://buff.ly/41f0Iwz

At Firstline, our mission is to empower healthcare providers with the right tools to make informed decisions about antibiotic use, ultimately benefiting patients and preserving the effectiveness of these essential drugs for future generations.

✅ Through minimizing inappropriate use, reducing waste, and optimizing resources, we're achieving incredible results: increased appropriateness, fewer days of therapy (DOTs), reduced antimicrobial use (AMU), and decreased healthcare-associated infections (HAIs).

Discover how we power programs at https://buff.ly/3m6du1q and join us in the fight against antibiotic resistance!