Feasibility of an antibiotic order form. First experience in the department of internal medicine of a university hospital

Inadequate control of antimicrobial drug use may lead to excessive expenditure for antimicrobial drugs and improper prescribing. It may also result in the emergence of multiresistant bacteria. An antibiotic order form may improve the quality of prescriptions by increasing the awareness of the physician of the antimicrobial spectrum needed (i.e. which microorganism is expected in a given patient), the desired duration of treatment, the potential need to adjust dosage, and the potential allergy of the patient to the drug. Furthermore, such an antibiotic order form facilitates prospective evaluation of both the quantity and the quality of prescribing practice. However, the introduction of yet another form to fill in may be met with opposition from prescribers. We have developed an easy-to-use antibiotic order form that incorporated the conventional medication order that was already in use in our hospital. Compliance (percentage of antimicrobial drug prescriptions for which an order form was used) was on average 58% in the first two weeks after introduction, and remained thereafter between 60% and 90%, varying between the different wards. Data retrieved from the antibiotic order forms could be used for surveillance. We conclude that this antibiotic order form was feasible in a large department of internal medicine of a university hospital. Future usefulness will depend on compliance and on personnel support for data processing and intervention.