CAUSE is the antimicrobial stewardship program of Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center. Its main charge is to optimize the utilization of antimicrobial agents. CAUSE was developed in February 2000 as a joint program of the Section on Infectious Diseases and the Department of Pharmacy.

Program Goals and Objectives

  • Improve patient outcomes through improving the utilization of antimicrobial agents
  • Reduce the proportion of antimicrobial-resistant organisms in the hospital and community
  • Utilize pharmacodynamic principles to optimize antimicrobial dosing
  • Reduce adverse drug events and antimicrobial administration errors
  • Reduce hospital costs
  • Utilize continuous quality improvement principles to study and enhance the way antimicrobials are prescribed