Improving Antibiotic Use in Urgent Care is Possible through Multifaceted Interventions, study shows |
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A new study in the Journal of the American Medical Association Network Open, Implementation of an Antibiotic Stewardship Initiative in a Large Urgent Care Network, shows how a multifaceted approach can safely reduce inappropriate antibiotic prescribing in a large urgent care network. Researchers were able to reduce prescribing rates at urgent care clinics by 15%—which would equate to millions of doses of antibiotics nationally—by using antibiotic stewardship initiatives specifically designed for these outpatient settings. Key findings The CDC-funded study authored by experts from Intermountain Healthcare, CDC, and the University of Utah shows improvements in appropriate antibiotic prescribing occurred with minimal changes to patient satisfaction and rates of hospitalization. In addition, the intervention appeared to have lasting effects of improved antibiotic prescribing for up to one year after the end of the intervention period. Findings showed a reduction in antibiotic prescribing for respiratory conditions from a baseline of 47.8% to 33.3% during the intervention period. Among conditions for which antibiotics are not recommended, such as acute bronchitis or the common cold, antibiotic prescribing decreased from a baseline of 18.7% to 7.5% during the intervention period. |
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About the intervention The intervention involved educational efforts for clinicians and patients, electronic health record-based clinical decision support systems to promote best practices, tracking and reporting of antibiotic prescribing using an electronic dashboard, and media activities promoting appropriate antibiotic use. What’s new This study is unique:
Improvements in antibiotic prescribing in urgent care settings can improve patient safety and help combat antimicrobial resistance. To learn more about improving antibiotic prescribing and use, visit www.cdc.gov/antibiotic-use. |
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