The National Health Commission issued a special task force on antimicrobial stewardship (AMS). We assess the effects of AMS from 2012 to 2016 in four tertiary comprehensive hospitals in Hainan Province, China, to explore the achievement of AMS to facilitate rational use, to control antimicrobial resistance (AMR), to ensure safety and quality of care.

Data from Hospital Information System (HIS) of hospitals according to the criteria of AMS were analyzed. Microsoft Excel data entry and SAS version 9.3 was used for analysis.

The indicators were general compliance to the national criteria from 2012 to 2016. The percentage of following results in hospitals were gradually reduced: the proportion of antibiotic use in outpatient care (11.09 to 3.25 percent); that in emergency departments (8.46 to 1.53 percent); antibiotics use rate of inpatient care (9.13 to 3.12 percent); antibiotics prophylactic use in type I surgical sites (24.19 to 3.38 percent); the proportion of drug cost (5.54 to 0.12 percent) and total cost of antibiotics (3.27 to 0.45 percent); total cost of antibiotics in outpatient care and emergency departments, which was below 10 percent. Pathogenic detection rate of antibiotics from 2013 to 2016 in three hospitals was increased from 38.75 to 59.6 percent. Hainan Provincial Antibiotics Resistance Monitoring Network conscientiously performs duties, several important and special detection rates of AMR close to the average national level, which have been effectively controlled.

It is needed to continue AMS and to enhance the capacity of rational use of antibiotics by medical professionals. Information systems need to be developed, coordinated and correlated to monitor the consumption of antibiotic use, surveillance of AMR and control of hospital infection.