Open AccessAdherence to national recommendations on antibiotic policies and impact on prescribing in an NHS region
Author(s) -
Seymour H. E.,
Brent S. L.,
Snider K.,
Hollyoak V. A.,
Smith J. M.
Publication year - 2001
Publication title -
international journal of pharmacy practice
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.42
H-Index - 37
eISSN - 2042-7174
pISSN - 0961-7671
DOI - 10.1111/j.2042-7174.2001.tb01077.x
Subject(s) - medicine , family medicine , antibiotics , intensive care medicine , nursing , biology , microbiology and biotechnology
Focal points □ All health authorities (HAs) and most National Health Service trusts have antimicrobial prescribing guidelines in place, although a significant minority are more than one year old; public health and microbiology personnel should be involved in the development of policies to ensure that recommended blind therapy is appropriate □ Antibiotic prescribing in primary care continues to improve in line with national recommendations from the House of Lords committee on science and technology and the Standing Medical Advisory Committee □ Although overall antibiotic prescription numbers have reduced in all HAs studied, absolute numbers remain higher than the national average and cannot be justified by demographic or morbidity factors □ The proportion of trimethoprim prescriptions for three days' treatment increased in all HAs.