“As the main prescribers of antibiotics, family doctors play a leading role in preventing the overuse and misuse of these precious medications. This trial demonstrates that feedback is an effective way to support them,” - Dr. Jeremy GrimshawA new study published in The BMJ shows that simple feedback letters to family physicians can help address one of the biggest health threats of our time – the rise in antibiotic-resistant infections. The randomized controlled trial involved mailing feedback letters to family physicians with details about how their antibiotic prescribing practices compared to their peers, along with tips for appropriate prescribing. The feedback design drew on best evidence of how to deliver effective feedback, based on work led by researchers at The Ottawa Hospital.
More than 5,000 Ontario physicians participated. Those who received the letters decreased their overall antibiotic prescribing by five percent after six months compared by the control group (absolute difference of 56.0 prescriptions per thousand patients versus 59.4). The group that received letters also made fewer unnecessary prescriptions, had fewer long treatment courses, and prescribed fewer broad-spectrum antibiotics. The Ottawa Hospital's Centre for Implementation Research played a key role in designing the trial, which was led out of Toronto.
“As the main prescribers of antibiotics, family doctors play a leading role in preventing the overuse and misuse of these precious medications. This trial demonstrates that feedback is an effective way to support them,” said Dr. Jeremy Grimshaw, senior scientist at The Ottawa Hospital and professor at the University of Ottawa.
Authors : Kevin L Schwartz, Jennifer Shuldiner, Bradley J Langford, Kevin A Brown, Susan E Schultz , Valerie Leung, Nick Daneman, Mina Tadrous, Holly O Witteman, Gary Garber, Jeremy M Grimshaw, Jerome A Leis, Justin Presseau, Michael S Silverman, Monica Taljaard, Tara Gomes, Meagan Lacroix, Jamie Brehaut, Kednapa Thavorn, Sharon Gushue, Lindsay Friedman, Merrick Zwarenstein, Noah Ivers.
Core Resources: ICES, Ottawa Methods Centre
Funding: Canadian Institutes for Health Research
The Ottawa Hospital is a leading academic health, research and learning hospital proudly affiliated with the University of Ottawa and supported by The Ottawa Hospital Foundation.
