Reducing Antibiotic Prescription Errors in the Emergency Department: A Quality Improvement Initiative

Discharge prescription errors from the pediatric emergency department (ED) are common. Despite the implementation of clinical pathways for common infections recommending specific antibiotic therapy and aids built into the electronic health record, errors in antibiotic prescriptions for patients discharged home from the ED persist.

We developed and implemented ED antibiotic discharge order panels for urinary tract infection (UTI) and skin and soft tissue infections (SSTI) that modeled antibiotic therapy from our institutional clinical pathways. We aimed to reduce antibiotic prescription errors by 50% within 6 months of implementation.

With the implementation of the ED discharge order panels, the overall error rate for prescriptions for UTI and SSTI improved from a baseline rate of 29.3% to 12.6% (P < 0.001). Individually, the baseline number of prescriptions with errors for UTI and SSTI improved from 26.1% and 32.8%, respectively, to 13.8% and 12.5% within 6 months. Sustained improvement continued for 17 months after the implementation of the order panels.

Development and implementation of ED antibiotic discharge order panels decrease antibiotic prescription errors for UTI and SSTI by improving compliance with institutional clinical pathways. Additional order panels should be developed and implemented for other conditions to help reduce discharge prescription errors.