Decision-Making Tool Reduces Inappropriate Antibiotics - CME Teaching Brief - MedPage Today
By Jeff Minerd, MedPage Today Staff Writer
Reviewed by Robert Jasmer, MD; Assistant Professor of Medicine, University of California, San Francisco
November 10, 2005
MedPage Today Action Points
* Be aware that about half of antibiotic prescriptions are written for viral respiratory infections for which antibiotics are not indicated.
* Inform patients who request antibiotics for viral infections that not only will the drugs not help, but such unnecessary antibiotic use contributes to the serious public health threat posed by antibiotic resistant bacteria.
Review
SALT LAKE CITY, Nov. 11 - A community intervention aimed at reducing inappropriate antibiotic prescriptions -- plus a handheld digital assistant for doctors -- had a significant success, investigators here reported. But the antibiotic reduction was not necessarily enough to matter.
The intervention consisted of a series of meetings with community leaders, news releases in the print media, distribution of patient-education materials at pharmacies and doctors' offices, and a mailing to parents with children younger than six.
They all added up to an 11% reduction in inappropriate antibiotic use when the doctors were helped by the digital device.
Nevertheless, said Matthew H. Samore, M.D., of the University of Utah here and colleagues, it's unclear whether the 11% reduction would be enough to have any impact on the spread of antibiotic resistant bacteria.
The study included 407,460 inhabitants and 334 primary care clinicians in three sets of six rural communities in Utah and Idaho, the authors reported in the Nov. 9 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association.
Posted by gruwell at November 11, 2005 3:36 AM | TrackBack