Smarter prescribing key to fighting antimicrobial resistance

GPs across the UK are leading the charge when it comes to smarter prescribing and combatting antimicrobial resistance (AMR).

Darren Nichols, managing director at First Databank states that GPs in the UK are using smart prescribing technologies to remain up to date with “appropriate guidelines around antibiotic prescribing.”

Over 4,000 GP surgeries are using a decision support technology known as OptimiseRx to help with decisions for prescribing medicines.

The system has so far saved the NHS £100 million since first being introduced in 2014. It works by using thousands of patient-specific algorithms which can notify prescribers about a patient’s medical history, co-morbidities or existing drug regimens, meaning health professionals can prescribe medicines accordingly.

For antibiotics, the system contains over 500 patient and condition specific alerts around local and national prescribing guidance. This is to help GPs understand when a particular medicine should and shouldn’t be prescribed as a first line antibiotic and suggests other appropriate medicines that may pose less risk of resistant infections developing.

“Fundamentally, technology can and is helping to overcome this challenge and empowering healthcare professionals to prescribe responsibly in the face of the global challenge of antimicrobial resistance.

“This is about helping professionals to prescribe antibiotics appropriately, to use them sparingly for their patients and to use them in a targeted manner, so that they are supported in taking control of a very serious global health issue,” Nichols added.