Use of electronic medical records to describe general practitioner antibiotic prescribing patterns

Abstract

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: The computerised medical records of general practice patients can inform our understanding of antibiotic prescribing and assist in antimicrobial stewardship (AMS). The aim of this study was to describe Australian general practitioner (GP) antibiotic prescribing patterns using data extracted from electronic medical records (EMR). METHOD: A descriptive analysis of patient records from 44 general practices, between 2010 and 2014, in the eastern region of metropolitan Melbourne was undertaken. RESULTS: Of the 615,362 antibiotic prescriptions, cefalexin, amoxicillin–clavulanic acid, roxithromycin, doxycycline and clarithromycin were the most frequently prescribed antibi..