Inappropriate use of antibiotic therapy is a major driver of adverse effects related to medications and antibiotic resistance in nursing homes. Despite formal calls for the enhancement of prescribing practices, along with improvements in structure and process, antibiotic stewardship in nursing homes remains suboptimal. Measuring antibiotic use in nursing homes and comparing observed patterns with relevant benchmarks is a core component of antibiotic stewardship. However, to date, nationally representative data to which nursing homes can benchmark have been lacking.
