Office of Primary Care and Area Health Education Centers (AHEC) Program

UVM Medical Center infectious disease physician Lindsay Smith, M.D., M.A., assistant professor of medicine and director of the University of Vermont Medical Center’s Antimicrobial Stewardship Program

(NOVEMBER 20, 2024) As part of International Microbial Awareness Week November 18–24, NBC5 featured UVM Medical Center (UVMMC) infectious disease physician Lindsay Smith, M.D., M.A., assistant professor of medicine and director of the University of Vermont Medical Center’s Antimicrobial Stewardship Program, and John Ahern, Pharm.D., clinical associate professor of medicine, an infectious disease pharmacist at UVMMC, discussing the importance of using antibiotics and antifungal medications correctly.

Smith and Ahern work to educate medical providers on the safest and most effective ways to prescribe antimicrobial medications.

“Making sure patients have the right drug at the right dose for the right indication, the right route—whether that be an oral pill or an IV antibiotic or a topical—and for the right duration,” Smith said.

When misused, Ahern said, “[antimicrobials] could have an adverse effect.”

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports antibiotic resistance as part of one of the world’s most urgent public health problems. Experts often call antibiotics and antifungal medications the most effective cures for many infections, but when misused, they also have the opposite effect. According to the CDC, resistance to these medications accounts for more than 1 million deaths annually.