An Approach to Cutting Inappropriate Antibiotic Use in Urgent Care

The key to safer, appropriate use of antibiotics may lie in something as simple as better education for both physicians and patients, according to a new study published in Academic Emergency Medicine. Funded by a contract with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, researchers at UC Davis saw inappropriate prescriptions for antibiotics fall by one third in nine emergency departments and urgent care centers in California and Colorado after introducing one of two educational approaches on site. The first approach consisted of offering educational materials from the CDC’s Be Antibiotics Aware program and identifying an on-site physician “champion.” The second approach included both education and providing feedback to physicians on prescribing rates, comparisons with fellow clinicians, and efforts to educate the public about unnecessary use of antibiotics for acute respiratory infection (ARIs). The latter proved to be more effective. The study data reflect 44,820 visits for ARIs to 292 physicians at five adult and pediatric emergency rooms and four urgent care centers.