It's been over a half-century since the medical community first heard a cautionary reminder from Sir Alexander Fleming (who discovered penicillin) about avoiding overuse of antibiotics. In the last decade, the clarion call for judicious antibiotic use swelled to world-wide attention with the emergence and rapid rise...

  Someone asked me today why I thought Europe seemed to be showing stronger gains in healthcare on several fronts -- patient centeredness, infection prevention, antimicrobial stewardship, better surgical protocols. Perhaps it is the more centralized payment and regulatory structures in Europe that allow a focus on...