Outcomes of an ambulatory care pharmacist-led antimicrobial stewardship program within a family medicine resident clinic

• Published in: Infection control and hospital epidemiology Vol. 42; no. 6; pp. 715 - 721
• Main Authors: Westerhof, Lindsey R., Dumkow, Lisa E., Hanrahan, Tarajo L., McPharlin, Samantha V., Egwuatu, Nnaemeka E.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Cambridge Cambridge University Press 01.06.2021
• Subjects: Ambulatory care; Antibiotics; Antimicrobial agents; Audits; Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease; Drug dosages; Drug stores; Education; Electronic health records; Emergency medical services; Feedback; Infectious diseases; Intervention; Leadership; Medical records; Medical residencies; Medicine; Nursing; Patients; Pediatrics; Pharmacists; Physicians; Prescriptions; Respiratory tract; Staphylococcus infections; Trends; Urinary tract diseases; Urinary tract infections; Urogenital system; Viral infections; United States > US; Grand Rapids Michigan
• ISSN: 0899-823X; 1559-6834
• DOI: 10.1017/ice.2020.1275

Abstract Objective: To determine whether an ambulatory care pharmacist (AMCP)-led intervention improved outpatient antibiotic prescribing in a family medicine residency clinic (FMRC) for upper respiratory tract infections (URIs), urinary tract infections (UTIs), and skin and soft-tissue infections (SSTIs). Design: Retrospective, quasi-experimental study comparing guideline-concordant antibiotic prescribing before and after an antimicrobial stewardship program (ASP) intervention. Setting: Family medicine residency clinic affiliated with a community teaching hospital. Participants: Adult and pediatric patients prescribed antibiotics for URI, UTI, or SSTI between November 1, 2017, and April 31, 2018 (pre-ASP group), or October 1, 2018, and March 31, 2019 (ASP group), were eligible for inclusion. Methods: The health-system ASP physician and pharmacist provided live education and pocket cards to FMRC staff with local guidelines as a quick reference. Audit with feedback was delivered every other week by the clinic’s AMCP. Guideline-concordance was determined based on the institution’s outpatient ASP guidelines. Results: Overall, 525 antibiotic prescriptions were audited (pre-ASP n = 90 and ASP n = 435). Total guideline-concordant antibiotic prescribing at baseline was 38.9% (URI, 53.3%; SSTI, 16.7%; UTI, 46.7%) and improved across all 3 infection types to 57.9% (URI, 61.2%; SSTI, 57.6%; UTI, 53.5%; P = .001). Significant improvements were seen in guideline-concordant antibiotic selection (68.9% vs 80.2%; P = .018), dose (76.7% vs 86.2%; P = .023), and duration of therapy (73.3% vs 86.2%; P = .02). Conclusions: An AMCP-led outpatient ASP intervention significantly improved guideline-concordant antibiotic prescribing for common infections within a FMRC.