Academic Detailing to Improve Use of Broad-Spectrum Antibiotics at an Academic Medical Center

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Abstract
ANTIBIOTIC MISUSE is common and costly. Approximately one third of all hospitalized patients receive an antibiotic, and several reports1-3 suggest that at least half of antibiotic orders are unnecessary, poorly chosen, or incorrectly dosed. Physicians often opt for broad-spectrum antibiotics when a narrower-spectrum agent would suffice. A review of 2 months of vancomycin hydrochloride use at one teaching hospital found that 70% of orders were inappropriate; problematic orders were as common for the medical service as they were for the surgery service.1