ICARES History

History

Objectives for 2007

ICARES is a broad-based statewide coalition of state and local health departments, hospital networks, health insurance plans, health care provider professional organizations and pharmaceutical corporations. The goals of ICARES are: (1) to increase awareness among health care providers and the public regarding issues related to antibiotic resistance and appropriate and responsible antibiotic use, and 2) to decrease inappropriate use of antibiotics.

ICARES was formed and began its educational activities in 1999 with a pilot program that informed physicians and patients in a central Indiana hospital network about the potential harm associated with unnecessary antibiotic use. This pilot project primarily focused on providing education regarding bacterial resistance to antibiotics. In the first year of the educational campaign, the prescription rate of four antibiotics commonly prescribed for acute respiratory infections (ARI) was significantly decreased.

In 2002, the Marion County Health Department (MCHD) and the Indiana State Department of Health (ISDH) joined the Indiana Coalition for Antibiotic Resistance Education Strategies (ICARES) to form a partnership to increase awareness of appropriate antibiotic use in Marion County and throughout the state of Indiana. MCHD and ISDH provide education directed toward all primary care, emergency room, and immediate care physicians, as well as childcare providers, parents of young children, and the general population of state of Indiana.

ICARES' Objectives:

To focus on the prevention of the spread of germs by working collaboratively with the ISDH, other local health departments in Indiana, and with Indiana hospitals to increase awareness and to educate health care providers and the general public.
To continue to work with other related departments within the local health departments (Communicable Disease, Foodborne, STDs, Health Promotion, and Maternal Child…) to develop new teaching tools that may be used by health care providers and the general public.
To provide links and/or referrals to other informational sites and/or agencies.