Related Experiment Videos
Pharmacy-based intervention to reduce antibiotic use for acute bronchitis.
David E Hickman1, Marilyn R Stebbins, John R Hanak
1Department of Clinical Pharmacy, School of Pharmacy, University of California, San Francisco, CA 94143-0622, USA.
The Annals of Pharmacotherapy
|January 29, 2003
Summary
A pharmacy-based intervention significantly reduced antibiotic prescriptions for acute bronchitis by 20%. This approach did not increase healthcare resource use and may decrease subsequent antibiotic needs.
Area of Science:
- Public Health
- Infectious Diseases
- Pharmacology
Background:
- Inappropriate antibiotic use for acute bronchitis is a significant public health concern.
- Previous interventions in closed systems showed promise in reducing unnecessary antibiotic prescriptions.
Purpose of the Study:
- To assess the effectiveness of a pharmacy-based educational intervention aimed at reducing antibiotic prescribing for acute bronchitis in a community physician group.
- To evaluate the impact on healthcare resource utilization and subsequent antibiotic requirements.
Main Methods:
- A quasi-experimental design was used, comparing antibiotic prescribing rates before and after the intervention.
- Physicians received educational materials from the CDC and patient-directed literature was distributed.
- A control clinic site was used to account for temporal trends.
Main Results:
- Antibiotic prescribing for acute bronchitis decreased by 20% (48.3% to 38.6%; p < 0.001) post-intervention.
- No significant change in antibiotic prescribing was observed in the control group.
- Patients receiving initial antibiotics were more likely to require a subsequent prescription (2.5% vs. 1.0%; p < 0.001).
Conclusions:
- A pharmacy-based intervention effectively reduced inappropriate antibiotic use for acute bronchitis.
- Reduced antibiotic prescribing did not increase healthcare resource consumption.
- Further interventions are necessary to further decrease antibiotic prevalence for acute bronchitis.