The Ontario Program To Improve AntiMIcrobial USE (OPTIMISE): A Descriptive Analysis of Dispensed Antibiotics

摘要

BackgroundAntimicrobial resistant infections are an emerging global public health crisis. Antibiotic use is the largest modifiable risk factor for antimicrobial resistance. Greater than 90% of antibiotic use in Canada occurs outside of the hospital setting; however, there is a lack of data describing the patterns of community antibiotic use. Our objective was to describe outpatient antibiotic prescriptions for all of Ontario, Canada and to examine variability in antibiotic prescribing across physicians.