Smart Strategies to Improve Antibiotic Use

Introduction of Quality Clusters

In 2018, Denmark introduced quality clusters in general practices. These clusters allowed doctors to choose topics for improvement, such as antibiotic use.

Research Objective

The primary goal was to determine if focusing on antibiotics within these clusters made a significant difference.

Methodology

• Data Collection: Researchers analyzed prescription data from 2015 to 2020.
• Surveys: Doctors were surveyed to understand their use of these clusters.

Findings

• Specific Antibiotics: Doctors in the clusters prescribed more specific antibiotics.
• Overall Prescriptions: However, the total number of antibiotics prescribed did not decrease.
• Strategies: The choice or number of strategies used did not significantly impact the results.

Conclusion

While working on antibiotics in these clusters showed some improvement, it did not reduce the overall number of antibiotics prescribed. This indicates that further efforts are needed to enhance antibiotic use.