Improving the appropriateness of antimicrobial use in primary care after implementation of a local antimicrobial guide in both levels of care.

OBJECTIVE: This study aims to assess the effectiveness of multiple interventions carried out during the implementation of a guide, on the improvement of the appropriateness of antimicrobial prescribing in primary care. DESIGN: This is a cross-sectional before/after study carried out in Aljarafe Health Care Area (Andalusia, Spain), with a population of 368,728 inhabitants assisted in 37 health centers. SUBJECTS: Subjects include patients with antibiotic prescriptions during 2009 (pre-intervention phase) or 2012 (postintervention phase) selected by simple random sampling (confidence level, 95%; accuracy, 5%), with infections registered in the electronic clinical history. INTERVENTIONS: This study involve training sessions in primary care centers and hospital services, incorporation of the electronic guide to the Health Care Service Websites, and incorporation of the guide to the Digital Health History as a tool to support decision making. MAIN OUTCOME: Difference on appropriate antibiotic prescribing before and after interventions resulted from the study. Other variables also include age, gender, type of pharmacy, antibiotic prescribed, number of treatments per year, infection site, and main comorbidities SOURCES: In addition, this study uses computerized pharmacy records of reimbursed and dispensed drugs and electronic medical histories. RESULTS: The percentage of appropriate antibiotic prescribing increased from 36% in 2009 to 57% in 2012 (p < 0.001) is shown. The improvement was observed in all age patients of any sex and was higher among working-age patients and patients with comorbidities. The best results were observed in the group of beta-lactams and in the treatment of respiratory and skin infections. CONCLUSION: The realization of multifactorial interventions involving professionals from both levels of care could be an effective strategy to improve the use of antimicrobials in primary care.

Compliance with quality prescribing indicators in terms of their relationship to financial incentives.

OBJECTIVE: To develop quality prescribing indicators for general practitioners (GPs) who are non-monitored and not included in pay-for-performance programs, and to determine compliance with incentivized and non-incentivized indicators. STUDY DESIGN: Descriptive cross sectional study. SETTING: Aljarafe Primary Health Care Area (Andalusian Public Health Care Service, Spain), a rural and suburban area with a population of 323,857 inhabitants. Health assistance in this area is provided by 176 GPs in 37 health centers. Prescribing indicators were developed by a multidisciplinary group using a qualitative technique based on consensus. The members of the consensus group searched for updated recommendations focused on clinical evidence. Prescribing data were obtained from the computerised pharmacy records of reimbursed drugs and clinical data from the electronic clinical databases and hospital admission records. RESULTS: Fourteen indicators based on the selection of drugs of different therapeutic groups or linked to patient´s clinical information were designed. The compliance with indicators based on the selection of drugs linked to financial incentives was higher than that of indicators not linked to financial incentives. The compliance with indicators based on clinical information varied widely. Inappropriate prescribing ranged from 7 %, in the use of long-acting beta-agonists in asthma, to 86 % in the use of drugs for the prevention of osteoporotic fractures in young women. CONCLUSIONS: This study shows better compliance by GPs with indirect and incentivized quality prescribing indicators, included in pay-for-performance programs, compared with not-incentivized indicators based on the relative use of drugs and on the appropriateness prescribing.