Dr. Marissa Cavaretta and her team of researchers, co-Investigator Dr. Jason Gallagher and former pharmacy residents Drs. Kayla Hiryak and Geena Kludjian, recently completed a prospective cohort study entitled "Improving antibiotic utilization through an outpatient stewardship initiative: a quasi-experimental study". Sponsored by Merck, the study is a pharmacist-driven intervention utilizing antimicrobial stewardship programs (ASP) to reduce prolonged antibiotic exposure to patients and to improve other prescriptive outcomes. Conducted at Temple University Hospital, the team was able to identify patients discharged on oral antibiotics in real-time and implement the strategy. The study demonstrates an association between pharmacist-led interventions and the reduction of antibiotic overuse, a universal healthcare concern. A discussion of the study and results can be accessed here.