Improving the quality of antibiotic prescription patterns in general practice

Abstract

Objective To assess the quality of antibiotic prescribing by Victorian general practitioners, and the effectiveness of educational intervention techniques in improving prescribing. Design A randomised, controlled, parallel group trial. Setting and participants In rural and metropolitan Victoria, 182 general practitioners (78 control, 104 intervention) began and 103 (41 control, 62 intervention) completed the study. Intervention Participants recorded their antibiotic prescribing for tonsillitis. The intervention group received an educational mailing campaign. A project pharmacist visited each doctor to discuss campaign messages. Main outcome measure The percentages of prescriptions of antibiotics for tonsillitis complying with those recommended in Antibiotic guidelines. Results In the intervention group, prescriptions consistent with recommendations in the guidelines increased from 60.5% before the campaign to 87.7% afterwards. Improvement also occurred in the control group, from 52.9% to 71.7% of prescriptions. The improvement within the intervention group was significantly greater than that within the control group. Conclusions The educational campaign significantly improved the prescribing of appropriate antibiotics for tonsillitis by general practitioners.