Antibiotic prescribing in primary care: The need for interprofessional collaboration

Area of Science:

• General Practice
• Primary Care
• Infectious Disease Management

Background:

• Self-limiting respiratory tract infections (RTIs) are common in general practice, often leading to antibiotic prescriptions despite their ineffectiveness.
• Patient expectations for antibiotics play a crucial role in prescribing decisions by general practitioners (GPs), contributing to antimicrobial resistance.
• Nurse prescribers focus on education and self-management, but interventions to reduce antibiotic prescribing currently target only GPs.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the influence of patient expectations on consultation satisfaction when treated by nurse prescribers for RTIs.
• To inform the development of interprofessional interventions promoting collaborative practice and appropriate antibiotic prescribing in primary care.

Main Methods:

• A questionnaire-based study will be conducted with patients consulting nurse prescribers for RTIs.
• The study will assess the relationship between patient expectations and their satisfaction with the consultation outcome.

Main Results:

• This section is to be filled after the study is conducted.

Conclusions:

• Findings will guide the creation of an interprofessional intervention to foster collaboration and responsible antibiotic prescribing.
• Addressing patient expectations is vital for improving care and combating antimicrobial resistance in primary care settings.