Effectiveness of a cephalosporin education program--a pharmacy education program

Area of Science:

• Pharmacoeconomics
• Antimicrobial Stewardship

Background:

• UCSF pharmacy budget faced challenges requiring cost-saving measures.
• Cephalosporin use was reviewed to optimize formulary and reduce expenditure.

Purpose of the Study:

• To implement a drug-use review and educational program for cephalosporins.
• To revise the formulary to a single parenteral cephalosporin, aiming for cost reduction.
• To encourage appropriate dosing of cefazolin.

Main Methods:

• A cephalosporin drug-use review was conducted.
• An educational campaign on appropriate cefazolin dosing was developed and distributed.
• Physician education involved documents and direct pharmacy personnel contact.
• Pharmacist involvement in medical rounding teams was assessed for impact.

Main Results:

• Physician prescribing habits changed significantly one month post-intervention.
• Services with pharmacists on rounding teams showed greater impact.
• Appropriate cefazolin dosing led to significant pharmacy budget cost savings.
• Formulary revision to single-agent cefazolin was implemented.

Conclusions:

• A targeted drug-use review and education program can effectively reduce antimicrobial costs.
• Optimizing cephalosporin prescribing, specifically cefazolin, yields significant pharmacoeconomic benefits.
• Formulary simplification to a single, cost-effective agent like cefazolin enhances savings potential.