Evaluation of a Pilot Digital Antibiotic Tool

Selecting and prescribing antibiotics are essential skills for paediatric residents, yet many report low confidence and variability in education on this topic. Traditional reference tools are often comprehensive but not optimised for rapid, point-of-care consultation or easy customisation. To address these challenges, we developed a digital educational resource tailored to common antibiotic prescribing needs in residency.

A multidisciplinary team of paediatric hospitalists, pharmacists and residents created a website featuring concise guidance for 13 commonly used antibiotics. Antibiotic selection was informed by a needs assessment survey and institutional data on pharmacist-led interventions for resident antibiotic orders. The tool emphasised clarity and usability rather than comprehensiveness. Users could access dosing, contraindications and institutional guidance without logging in, on either mobile or desktop platforms.

Over 6 months, the website received 1100 visits, including 734 from self-identified paediatric residents. The three most frequently visited antibiotic pages aligned with the three antibiotics that most often required pharmacist modification (cefazolin, amoxicillin and amoxicillin-clavulanate). In a follow-up survey (response rate: 42%), residents rated the site's usability as above average using the System Usability Scale (mean score, 77.3, n = 22). Free-text feedback highlighted ease of use, relevance and utility for teaching peers.

This learner-informed digital tool demonstrated strong early engagement and usability. The alignment between prescribing challenges and site usage suggests feasibility to assist clinical practice. Future directions include integrating the tool into the electronic health record (EHR) and assessing effects on prescribing accuracy, user knowledge, and patient safety across contexts.