Teqqa Announces Next-Generation Antibiotic Stewardship Technology At University Of Pennsylvania Health System

Antibiotic stewardship software apps help academic medical center combat antibiotic resistance and improve patient outcomes.

IDWeek, Booth #532 - Teqqa LLC, a software firm specializing in applications that optimize antibiotic use, announced recently that the University of Pennsylvania Health System (UPHS) has contracted to extend and expand its use of Teqqa applications in all UPHS hospitals. Teqqa made the announcement at booth #532 on the first day of IDWeek 2015 conference and exhibition in San Diego, Calif.

Bacteria continue to grow stronger and more resistant to common antibiotics, and resistance patterns vary on national, regional and local levels. This variance means that a drug effective against an infection at one hospital may be much less effective at another. For example, E. coli isolated from wound infections are susceptible to the antibiotic ceftriaxone at a rate of 90 percent at one hospital, while just one mile away another hospital sees susceptibility rates of 74 percent. That difference means ceftriaxone is acceptable therapy on its own at the first hospital, whereas at the other hospital another drug would be needed. Optimal use of antibiotics is dependent on having the most current available data on resistance patterns within the community and location where each patient is treated. 

Teqqa and UPHS began their strategic contract in January 2014 to design and deploy antibiotic stewardship software for use in UPHS hospitals. Teqqa’s software gives providers – at the point of care – immediate access to real-time interactive data on antibiotic susceptibility and resistance patterns, helping them to make the best antibiotic decisions for their patients. This system replaced the former practice of providing static data to clinicians once a year.

“Understanding the trends and patterns of resistance allows clinicians to choose appropriate medications to treat a patient’s infection. Teqqa provides the most timely, actionable data to help optimize the benefits of these life-saving drugs,” said Dan Peterson, M.D., founder and CEO of Teqqa. "We are excited to continue our work with UPHS’s visionary team and to further enhance Teqqa’s solutions for expanded use by health systems nationwide. Together we will continue to fight antibiotic resistance."

UPHS also uses Teqqa’s analytics tools to adapt their treatment and prophylaxis guidelines, and to integrate current resistance patterns into their order sets. This allows them to make evidence-based decisions about optimal antimicrobial therapy.

 “The Teqqa apps are now engrained in our antimicrobial stewardship process, providing us with quick access to data and resistance patterns to inform our physicians’ prescribing decisions,” said Keith Hamilton, M.D., associate healthcare epidemiologist and director of antimicrobial stewardship at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania. “Physician usage of antibiograms* has grown exponentially since we instituted the Teqqa iAntibiogram: from an average of 28 views a month of our web-based static antibiogram to an average of 3,900 views per month of the Teqqa iAntibiogram. It is now a part of how we deliver top patient care.”

The collaboration with Teqqa further boosts the UPHS successful Antimicrobial Stewardship Program. Since its inception in 1993, this multifaceted program has been shown to improve the appropriateness of antibiotic use and cure rates, decrease failure rates, and reduce healthcare-related costs. 

* An antibiogram is a summary of antibiotic sensitivity rates at a hospital that identifies the susceptibility of a bacterial strain to various antibiotics. This helps doctors prescribe the best antibiotic(s) to treat a patient.  

About Teqqa LLC

Teqqa is the healthcare technology leader in optimizing antimicrobial use through its software and applications, specifically helping hospitals combat antimicrobial resistance with timely, relevant data. The Teqqa product suite includes the smartphone-enabled Teqqa iAntibiogram that provides mobile data access so clinicians can make smarter prescribing actions that result in better clinical outcomes and fewer unintended consequences. Teqqa Analytics applies robust analytics to hospital data, allowing clinical teams to focus on the problems, measure outcomes, and evaluate progress. In August 2015, Teqqa won the HERO Award from Silicon Couloir for its innovative ideas among entrepreneurial start-up companies. For more information, visit www.teqqa.com.