title: Information resources used in antimicrobial prescribing.
abstract: To describe resources clinicians use when they prescribe antimicrobials, the authors surveyed prescribers by telephone within hours (median 2.9) after they ordered one or more antimicrobials for a patient. Among 157 prescribers, 87 (55%) used one or more external resources to aid in decisions about their order. The other 70 (45%) used only their own knowledge and experience. Fifty-nine (38%) consulted another person. Fifty-four (34%) used a print, computer, or Internet resource. In multivariate analysis, use of an external resource was associated with the clinician being on the medical service (odds ratio [OR] 2.99, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.41-6.3) or being an intern (OR 13.65, 95% CI 1.44-128). Eighty percent of providers said information about antimicrobial prescribing at the point of electronic order entry would be helpful. It was concluded that decision support at the point of electronic order entry is likely to be used and might improve antimicrobial prescribing.
authors.affiliation: Medicine Service, Department of Internal Medicine, School of Medicine, University of Minnesota, MN, USA.
authors.forename: Jonathan S
authors.initials: JS
authors.lastname: Sellman
authors.forename: Douglas
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Decarolis
authors.forename: Anne
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Schullo-Feulner
authors.forename: David B
authors.initials: DB
authors.lastname: Nelson
authors.forename: Gregory A
authors.initials: GA
authors.lastname: Filice
mesh_terms: D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D003657:Decision Making; D011307:Drug Prescriptions; D006751:Hospital Information Systems; D006787:Hospitals, Veterans; D006801:Humans; D007255:Information Services / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D020407:Internet; D007400:Interprofessional Relations; D016347:Medical Records Systems, Computerized; D008505:Medical Staff, Hospital; D008910:Minnesota; D015999:Multivariate Analysis; D019982:Organizational Case Studies; D019095:Point-of-Care Systems; D014584:User-Computer Interface
chemical_list: D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents