Differences in antibiotic prescribing among physicians, residents, and nonphysician clinicians

PURPOSE: State legislatures have increased the prescribing capabilities of nurse practitioners and physician assistants and broadened the scope of their practice roles. To determine the impact of these changes, we compared outpatient antibiotic prescribing by practicing physicians, nonphysician clinicians, and resident physicians. METHODS: Using the National Ambulatory Medical Care Survey (NAMCS) and the National Hospital Ambulatory Medical Care Survey (NHAMCS), we conducted a cross-sectional study of patients >/=18 years of age receiving care in 3 outpatient settings: office practices, hospital practices, and emergency departments, 1995-2000. We measured the proportion of all visits and visits for respiratory diagnoses where antibiotics are rarely indicated in which an antibiotic was prescribed by practitioner type. RESULTS: For all patient visits, nonphysician clinicians were more likely to prescribe antibiotics than practicing physicians for visits in office practices (26.3% vs 16.2%), emergency departments (23.8% vs 18.2%), and hospital clinics (25.2% vs 14.6%). Similarly, for the subset of visits for respiratory conditions where antibiotics are rarely indicated, nonphysician clinicians prescribed antibiotics more often than practicing physicians in office practices (odds ratio [OR] 1.86, 95% confidence intervals [CI]: 1.05 to 3.29), and in hospital practices (OR 1.55, 95% CI: 1.12 to 2.15). In hospital practices, resident physicians had lower prescribing rates than practicing physicians for all visits as well as visits for respiratory conditions where antibiotics are rarely indicated (OR 0.56, 95% CI: 0.36 to 0.86). CONCLUSION: Nonphysician clinicians were more likely to prescribe antibiotics than practicing physicians in outpatient settings, and resident physicians were less likely to prescribe antibiotics. These differences suggest that general educational campaigns to reduce antibiotic prescribing have not reached all providers.     

One drug or two? Step‐down therapy after i.v. antibiotics for community‐acquired pneumonia

Background: The aim of the study was to describe the oral antibiotics prescribed as step‐down therapy for patients hospitalized for community‐acquired pneumonia (CAP). Methods: A comparative audit of patient records in a Sydney teaching hospital, a district referral hospital and a regional hospital was carried out. Patients older than 15 years admitted between 1 July 2004 and 31 December 2004 with a diagnosis of CAP were identified by diagnostic code. The medical records were reviewed for patient demographics, the specialty of the attending physician, comorbidities, adverse drug events, relevant microbiological results and the antibiotic therapy prescribed for the treatment of pneumonia. Cases were randomly selected from all pneumonia admissions, with approximately equal numbers from urban and regional hospitals. One hundred and ninety‐six admissions for CAP (in 193 patients) were included in this review. Patients were predominantly cared for by respiratory physicians (62%) and geriatricians (14%). Eighty‐nine per cent of patients received dual antibiotic therapy on admission. Results: For patients commenced on two antibiotics, 62% were prescribed two oral antibiotics after completing i.v. therapy, 27% were prescribed one oral agent and 11% were prescribed no step‐down therapy. Geographic location and the presence of a documented antibiotic allergy affected prescribing practice. Neither the specialty of the attending medical officer nor the identification of a likely pathogen affected prescribing practice. Conclusion: Although most of the patients with CAP were initially prescribed two antibiotics, there was considerable variability in whether one, two or no oral agents were prescribed as step‐down therapy.     

Reduction in antibiotic costs by restricting use of an oral cephalosporin

Antibiotic cost control programs are important; however, they may be difficult to Implement if they include intensive involvement of infectious diseases specialists. In a large municipal hospital, review of antibiotic cost data indicated that 31 percent of the total antibiotic expenditure was for an oral cephalosporin, cephalexin. The requirement that an antibiotic justification form be completed did not decrease use of the drug. However, the requirement that the prescribing physician telephone an infectious diseases specialist resulted in marked restriction of the oral cephalosporin and was accompanied by a 29 percent reduction (adjusted for inflation) in total antibiotic costs. Since comparatively few telephone requests were made and since the decision process to use an oral cephalosporin is comparatively simple, marked reduction in antibiotic costs was achieved with relatively little effort by the infectious diseases expert.     

Hospital care by hospital-based and clinic-based faculty: a prospective, controlled trial

BACKGROUND: The hospital length of stay decreases and clinical outcomes are maintained when teaching hospitals involve hospital-based attending physicians in comparison with traditional attending physicians. The attending physician's time commitment, including the number of hours per day and months per year, required to achieve this result is unknown. This study compared the clinical outcomes and cost of care for patients treated by hospital-based and clinic-based attending physicians devoting dramatically different amounts of time to supervising residents on the medical wards of a suburban county hospital. METHODS: Patients were alternately admitted to 2 groups of ward teams. Faculty who attended 10 months of the year supervised one group. The comparison group's attending physicians were on service for 2 months or less and maintained clinic responsibilities while on service. The cost of patient care was compared by means of the length of stay, total hospital costs, and costs for ancillary services. Hospital mortality and readmission rates compared clinical outcomes. RESULTS: There were 4456 patients hospitalized on the medical wards of a teaching service. No differences were detected in the length of stay (4.37 +/- 0.1 days for hospital-based and 4.39 +/- 0.1 days for clinic-based attending physicians). Hospital cost was observed to be similar (average cost, $5989 and $5977 per patient, respectively). The clinical outcomes were equivalent, with adjusted mortality rates for hospital-based attending physicians of 3.2% vs 3.9% for clinic-based attending physicians (P =.28). CONCLUSION: An increase of faculty time and involvement for supervision of resident-managed hospital care did not improve clinical outcomes or decrease costs during the 1-year study period.     

老年慢性阻塞性肺疾病急性加重期治疗中血清降钙素原的作用

目的 研究血清降钙素原(PCT)在老年慢性阻塞性肺疾病急性加重(AECOPD)患者治疗中的作用.方法 选取住院的老年AECOPD患者267例,分为常规治疗组135例(常规组)和PCT指导治疗组132例(PCT组).常规组由经治医师按抗生素使用指南决定抗生素治疗方案,PCT组按血清PCT水平决定是否使用抗生素.观察两组患者的住院时间、临床有效率、住院费用及抗生素费用、抗生素使用率、住院病死率、1年随访期间AECOPD发生率、发生次数及住院率.结果 两组患者在住院时间、临床有效率、住院病死率及1年随访期间AECOPD发生率、发生次数及住院率差异无统计学意义(均为P＞0.05),PCT组的住院费用、抗生素费用及抗生素使用率[分别为10 882(3808～16 651)元、6934(2390～10 660)元、76.5%]均低于常规组[分别为13 637(4650～19 730)元、8589(3144～12 117)元、87.4%](均为P＜0.05).结论 与常规治疗相比,老年AECOPD患者在PCT指导下使用抗生素可以减少抗生素使用量,降低住院费用.     

Cost containment of the second-generation cephalosporins by prospective monitoring at a community teaching hospital

All patients receiving cefoxitin and cefamandole were prospectively reviewed for appropriate and inappropriate utilization. There were two eight-week survey periods. In period 1, 81 (70%) of 115 patients received cefoxitin appropriately and six (40%) of 15 patients received cefamandole appropriately. In patients receiving antibiotics inappropriately, 12 (35%) of the 34 receiving cefoxitin and eight (89%) of the nine receiving cefamandole had infections that could have been treated with less expensive, equally efficacious antibiotics. Changes in antibiotic therapy were made in 79% of patients based on our recommendations. The estimated annual cost saving for these antibiotics was $40,290. During period 2, 73 (91%) of 80 patients were given cefoxitin appropriately and 14 (61%) of 23 patients received cefamandole appropriately. Forty-three percent of those receiving cefoxitin and 33% of those receiving cefamandole inappropriately could have been treated with a less expensive, equally efficacious antibiotic. In 88% of patients, the attending physicians followed our recommendations.     

血清降钙素原监测在门诊治疗社区获得性肺炎中的作用

目的 探讨血清降钙素原(PCT)监测在门诊接受治疗的社区获得性肺炎(CAP)患者的抗生素使用中的临床意义.方法 选2006年11月-2008年2月符合CAP诊断标准的门诊接受治疗的CAP患者127例,随机分为PCT监测组(63例)和常规治疗组(64例),人选患者监测血清PCT水平.在相旧常规治疗的基础上,常规治疗组由经治医师按照我国CAP治疗指南决定抗生素治疗方案;PCT监测组按照血清PCT水平决定是否使用抗生素,在血清PCT≥0.25μg/L时进行抗生素治疗,PCT<0.25μg/L时不予抗生素治疗,之后复诊亦按照此标准决定是否继续使用抗生素.观察2组患者的临床治疗有效率、抗生素使用率、抗生索疗程及抗生素费用.结果 PCT监测组临床治疗有效率(92.1%)与常规治疗组(87.5%)相比差异无统计学意义(P>0.05),PCT监测组的抗生素使用率、抗生素疗程及抗生素费用均低于常规治疗组(P值均小于0.05),2组患者的预后无明显差异.结论 门诊接受治疗的CAP患者可以依据PCT水平指导抗生素应用,能够减少抗生素用量,缩短抗生素疗程,降低抗生素费用.     

Effect of a comprehensive, multidisciplinary, educational program on the use of antibiotics in a geriatric university hospital

OBJECTIVES: To assess the effect of a comprehensive, educational antibiotic management program designed to improve antibiotic use and reduce treatment costs in elderly patients with suspected urinary or respiratory tract infection. DESIGN: Interventional cohort study with 12 cross-sectional drug utilization reviews of antibiotic use before, during, and after the multifaceted intervention. SETTING: A 304-bed university hospital for geriatric patients. PARTICIPANTS: A total of 3,383 elderly patients. INTERVENTIONS: An educational program including distribution of guidelines on the diagnosis and treatment of urinary and respiratory tract infections; lectures on geriatric infectious diseases; weekly ward rounds for patients with suspected infection; and targeted, individual counseling on diagnosis and antibiotic treatment of infections. MEASUREMENTS: Antibiotic utilization data were collected from the patients' records. Antimicrobial costs were calculated using 1998 hospital wholesale prices. RESULTS: Of 3,383 screened patients, 680 (20%) received at least one antibiotic. During the study period, the mean number of prescribed drugs per patient increased from 5.9 to 7.6 (29%; P<.001). In contrast, a reduction of 15% was observed in the proportion of patients exposed to antibiotic agents (P=.08) and a drop of 26% in the number of antibiotics administered (P<.001). This resulted in a 54% decrease in cumulative daily antibiotic costs. In 83 (75%) of 110 surveyed patients, the guidelines were correctly implemented. The intervention had no measurable negative clinical effect. CONCLUSION: A comprehensive, multifaceted educational program for treating urinary and respiratory tract infections in the elderly was a safe and practical method to change physicians' antibiotic prescribing practice and significantly reduce the consumption and costs of antibiotics in a geriatric hospital.     

The effect of an educational program upon hospital antibiotic use

The effect of an educational program on the use of antibiotics was studied in a university-affiliated Veterans Administration Hospital. Following an initial survey of antibiotic usage, educational presentations of the collected data were made to the hospital staff which included specific prescribing errors and alternative recommendations. Then, another survey was conducted. Measurable changes following the educational presentations were limited to decreasing costs of unjustified antibiotic use. An effect was noted in decreasing unjustified use of antibiotics in prophylactic situations, but this remained the most common misuse. Thus, an educational program directed at specific prescribing errors produced little noticeable effect on the use of antibiotics in a university-affiliated hospital. The study indicates that more direct measures, such as control of use of particular antibiotics, may be required to produce a meaningful change in prescribing practices.     

The use of an antibiotic order form for antibiotic utilization review: influence on physicians' prescribing patterns

An antibiotic order form was implemented for all inpatient antibiotic orders at an 800-bed hospital in April 1981 to provide an ongoing, concurrent audit of antibiotic use. The prescribing physician provided the clinical indication for the antibiotic order, and individual patient treatment courses were identified. During the 25-month study period, cephalosporins, penicillin plus ampicillin, and aminoglycosides accounted for 44%, 22%, and 17% of all treatment courses, respectively. Sixty-nine percent of first-generation cephalosporin treatment courses were for prophylaxis, whereas the remaining antibiotics were used for either empirical therapy or documented infection in 56%-79% of cases. After the introduction of the antibiotic order form, there was a significant decline in both the number of antibiotic treatment courses (P = .025) and the percentage of patients receiving any antibiotic (P = .007). We conclude that a specialized antibiotic order form is an effective method for antibiotic utilization review and can have a significant impact on a physician's prescribing patterns.     

Antibiotic resistance: a survey of physician perceptions

BACKGROUND: Antibiotic resistance is caused partly by excessive antibiotic prescribing, yet little is known about prescribers' views on this problem. METHODS: We surveyed 490 internal medicine physicians at 4 Chicago-area hospitals to assess their attitudes about the importance of antibiotic resistance, knowledge of its prevalence, self-reported experience with antibiotic resistance, beliefs about its causes, and attitudes about interventions designed to address the problem. RESULTS: The response rate was 87% (424 of 490 physicians). Antibiotic resistance was perceived as a very important national problem by 87% of the respondents, but only 55% rated the problem as very important at their own hospitals. Nearly all physicians (97%) believed that widespread and inappropriate antibiotic use were important causes of resistance. Yet, only 60% favored restricting use of broad-spectrum antibiotics, although this percentage varied by hospital and physician group. CONCLUSIONS: Although most physicians view antibiotic resistance as a serious national problem, perceptions about its local importance, its causes, and possible solutions vary more widely. Disparities in physician knowledge, beliefs, and attitudes may compromise efforts to improve antibiotic prescribing and infection control practices.     

Healthcare workers’ knowledge,attitudes and behaviours with respect to antibiotics,antibiotic use and antibiotic resistance across 30 EU/EEA countries in 2019

BackgroundWhile several studies have assessed knowledge, attitudes and behaviours of the public, physicians and medical students in a number of EU/EEA countries with respect to antibiotic use and antibiotic resistance, there is a paucity of literature for other healthcare workers. This survey aimed to fill this gap.MethodsA 43-item online questionnaire was developed, validated and pilot-tested through a modified Delphi consensus process involving 87 Project Advisory Group (PAG) members, including national representatives and members of European health professional groups. The survey was distributed by the PAG and via social media to healthcare workers in 30 EU/EEA countries.ResultsRespondents (n = 18,365) from 30 EU/EEA countries participated. Knowledge of antibiotics and antibiotic use was higher (97%) than knowledge of development and spread of antibiotic resistance (75%). Sixty percent of respondents stated they had received information on avoiding unnecessary prescribing, administering or dispensing of antibiotics. Among respondents who prescribed, administered or dispensed antibiotics, 55% had provided advice on prudent antibiotic use or management of infections to patients, but only 17% had given resources (leaflets or pamphlets). For community and hospital prescribers, fear of patient deterioration or complications was the most frequent reason (43%) for prescribing antibiotics that were considered unnecessary. Community prescribers were almost twice as likely as hospital prescribers to prescribe antibiotics due to time constraints or to maintain patient relationships.ConclusionIt is important to move from raising awareness about prudent antibiotic use and antibiotic resistance among healthcare workers to designing antimicrobial stewardship interventions aimed at changing relevant behaviours.     

Strategies to improve antibiotic use

The desideratum of "appropriate" antibiotic therapy include efficacy, safety, and low cost. Strategies for achieving these goals include education, control of the hospital formulary, written justification forms and automatic stop orders, ongoing utilization review, restriction, required consultation, control of laboratory susceptibility testing, and limitation of contact time between physicians and pharmaceutical representatives. Because traditional education methods have had limited impact on "appropriate" antibiotic use, the potential of the newer strategies must be explored. Most published studies emanate from teaching hospitals, leaving the applicability of the findings to community hospitals largely unsettled. At each hospital, it should be determined which combination of strategies will strike the best balance between effectiveness and palatability. Computer technology continues to hold promise as a way to provide instantaneous, nonthreatening feedback to prescribing physicians.     

Desire for antibiotics and antibiotic prescribing for adults with upper respiratory tract infections

OBJECTIVE: Prior studies have shown that 60% to 75% of adults with upper respiratory tract infections want antibiotics. More recent research indicates declines in antibiotic prescribing for upper respiratory tract infections. To investigate whether there has been a comparable decrease in patients' desire for antibiotics, we measured the proportion of adults with upper respiratory tract infections who wanted antibiotics in the winter of 2001-2002. We also sought to identify factors independently associated with wanting antibiotics and antibiotic prescribing. DESIGN: Prospective survey of adults with upper respiratory tract infections prior to visiting an acute care clinic from November 2001 to February 2002. MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS: Thirty-nine percent of 310 patients wanted antibiotics. Many patients wanted relief from symptoms (43%) or pain (24%) and many patients expected to receive a diagnosis (49%) or reassurance during the visit (13%). In multivariable modeling, independent predictors of wanting antibiotics were prior antibiotic use (odds ratio [OR], 2.4; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.3 to 4.7) and current smoking (OR, 3.1; 95% CI, 1.3 to 7.3). Physicians prescribed antibiotics to 46% of patients who wanted antibiotics and 29% of patients who did not want antibiotics (P=.01). In multivariable modeling, wanting antibiotics was an independent predictor of antibiotic prescribing (OR, 2.1; 95% CI, 1.1 to 4.4). CONCLUSIONS: Only 39% of adults seeking care for upper respiratory tract infections wanted antibiotics, less than in previous studies. In continuing efforts to break the cycle of inappropriate antibiotic use, physicians should not assume that most patients with upper respiratory tract infections want antibiotics.     

Therapeutic antibiotic monitoring: surveillance using a computerized expert system

STUDY OBJECTIVE: To develop and evaluate a computerized system to monitor therapeutic antibiotics in a hospital setting. MATERIAL AND METHODS: From November 1986 through October 1987, we prospectively monitored 1,632 hospitalized patients who had 2,157 microbiology specimens sent for culture and sensitivity testing. During the study period, computer algorithms were used to identify patients whose antibiotic therapy was inappropriate in relation to microbiology culture and sensitivity data. When inconsistencies occurred between antibiotic therapy and in vitro sensitivity data, computer algorithms generated therapeutic antibiotic monitor (TAM) alerts. A clinical pharmacist then notified the attending physician of the alert. RESULTS: Antibiotic therapy was identified by the computer as inappropriate in 696 instances (32%). After we eliminated false-positive alerts, 420 evaluable TAM alerts remained. Physicians responded to the TAM alerts by either changing or starting antimicrobial therapy in 125 cases (30%). Moreover, physicians were previously unaware of the relevant susceptibility test results in 49% of the alerts. CONCLUSION: Computer-assisted monitoring is an efficient and promising method to identify and correct errors in antimicrobial prescribing and to assure the appropriate use of therapeutic antibiotics.