In this talk I will discuss the use of a real-time dataset that links microbiology test results to community antimicrobial dispensing. This allows prescriber behaviour in relation to microbiology testing to be determined at the individual level on a large scale. Using this dataset, we identified that antibiotics are frequently initiated in response to positive culture results, likely representing unnecessary antibiotic use driven by laboratory reporting. In response to this, our laboratory instituted an “exception reporting” approach to wound swab culture, whereby organisms susceptible to standard empiric therapy for skin and soft tissue infections are not reported and instead a comment stating that no resistant organisms have been isolated is made. This resulted in an immediate and substantial reduction in the initiation of antibiotics in response to wound swab cultures. In this talk I will discuss this particular project and other uses of this dataset to understand prescriber behaviour in relation to microbiology test results.
Max Bloomfield (Sun,) studied this question.