Yearly Archives: 2025

Antimicrobial resistance knows no borders, and neither does drive-AMS. Following its successful implementation in Greece, Portugal, Romania and Lithuania, the drive-AMS approach is now taking root in Cyprus. With the enthusiastic leadership of Dr. Elisavet Constantinou, Dr. Markella Marcou and Dr. Linos Hadjihannas, the country has taken major steps in implementing antimicrobial stewardship (AMS) at the hospital level. In a first major milestone, eight newly established AMS teams were trained in February 2025 as part of a tailor-made drive-AMS training. In this interview, Dr. Marcou and Dr. Hadjihannas reflect on their motivation, the AMR situation in Cyprus, and their expectations for the future.

The SPICE initiative (Specialized Program for Infectious Disease Care Everywhere) has now expanded its expert-led support to Greece. This effort is part of the broader drive-AMS project and aims to empower hospitals in partner countries with tailored, expert-backed AMS consultation services.

On May 21st, ULS São João brought together leaders from 16 Portuguese ULS (Local Health Units) for the national leadership meeting of the drive-AMS program—a project focused on improving antimicrobial prescribing practices through behavioral change strategies.

We’re excited to announce the Final Consortium Meeting of the drive-AMS project, taking place from 16–18 October 2025 in Brussels. This three-day event will gather partners, experts, and stakeholders from across Europe to reflect on the achievements of drive-AMS in strengthening antimicrobial stewardship and to shape the future of post-project collaboration.

At the ESCMID Global 2025 conference (Vienna, 11-15 April), the drive-AMS consortium presented key outcomes from its innovative EU-wide antimicrobial stewardship (AMS) project. The poster, titled “Implementation of hospital antimicrobial stewardship in Europe using a data-driven behaviour change approach,” showcased inspiring results from the first two years of the project.

From 13 to 15 February, a group of 38 healthcare professionals from eight hospitals across Cyprus gathered in Nicosia for an intensive three-day learning experience: the drive-AMS Antimicrobial Stewardship course. Hosted by the Cyprus Ministry of Health and supported by EU-JAMRAI, this event brought the innovative drive-AMS methodology to the Mediterranean, equipping Cypriot hospitals with the knowledge and tools to enhance antimicrobial stewardship.

Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) poses a significant challenge to public health, particularly in long-term care facilities (LTCFs) where frail older individuals are highly vulnerable to infections. Excessive and inappropriate use of antibiotics, especially for suspected urinary tract infections (UTIs), contributes to the emergence of multi-resistant bacteria, threatening patient safety.

The second drive-AMS country course in Lithuania took place from 29 January to 1 February, bringing together 40 participants, including teams from four new hospitals and one new team from the University Hospital Pediatric Division. This course provided a vital platform for expanding AMS initiatives in Lithuania. Among the attendees was Eglė Karinauskė, an inspiring clinical pharmacologist dedicated to rational antibiotic prescribing. Known as the ‘AMR girl’ among her colleagues, Eglė is a passionate advocate for AMS, and in this interview, she shares her insights, experiences, and the impact of drive-AMS on her work.

STOP-Hospital Infection is a quality improvement program developed by the Portuguese Health Priority Program on Prevention of Infection and Antimicrobial Resistance, seeded in the Directorate General of Health, in partnership with the Gulbenkian Foundation and with the support of the Institute of Healthcare Improvement.

From January 29 -31, the second drive-AMS Masterclass for Rwandan hospitals took place in Kigali, bringing together teams from across the country for an intensive three-day training.

The third edition of the Portuguese drive-AMS training course recently took place, promoting strategies to support the prescription of antibiotics in eight national hospitals. It’s in line with the objective of the drive-AMS project to create measures in partner hospitals to combat antimicrobial resistance, through promoting behavioural change in prescribing doctors.

Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is one of the most pressing health challenges of our time, threatening to undermine decades of medical progress. In response, the drive-AMS team at Radboud University Medical Center, in close collaboration with bioMérieux, has brought together its extensive experience in a comprehensive guide titled "Antimicrobial Stewardship: A Practical Guide to Implementation in Hospitals."