Fed: Unnecessary use of antibiotics costing health budget $300m

AAP General News (Australia)
12-17-2009
Fed: Unnecessary use of antibiotics costing health budget $300m

Eds: Embargoed until 0001 (AEDT), Thursday, December 17



By Karlis Salna

CANBERRA, Dec 17 AAP - Needlessly treating bacterial infections and viruses with antibiotics
costs $300 million a year nationally that could be better spent, says a report.

Inappropriate treatment also has a significant impact on morbidity, mortality and treatment
costs, according to the Australian Commission on Safety and Quality in Health Care.

The commission said the use of "antimicrobials" appeared higher than in other countries
with studies showing that as many as 50 per cent of antibiotic regimens prescribed in
Australian hospitals were considered unsuitable.

"Inappropriate antimicrobial use increases the risk to patients of colonisation and
infection with resistant organisms and subsequent transmission to other patients," the
report said.

"Patients with antimicrobial-resistant infections experience the consequences of ineffective
treatment, recurrent infection, delayed recovery or even death."

Patients with resistant infections were twice as likely to die.

The emergence and selection of resistant bacteria and other organisms, driven by inappropriate
antimicrobial use and subsequent transmission among hospital patients, had a significant
impact not only on healthcare costs but also on societal costs, the report said.

Courses of antibiotics were often continued longer than necessary because the prescription
was not time-limited while consumers also contributed to the overuse of antimicrobials
by applying pressure on doctors to prescribe antibiotics for viral infections such as
the common cold.

"In Australia, it has been estimated that $300 million of the Australian national health
budget could be re-directed to better use if there was optimal antimicrobial use and containment
of antimicrobial resistance."

The commission has developed a number of what it describes as "essential strategies"

needed to arrest the overuse of antimicrobials, including the introduction of clinical
guidelines consistent with advice from the Therapeutic Goods Administration.

There should also be a review and audit of antimicrobial prescribing with intervention
and direct feedback to the prescriber.

A number of recommendations were also made, including that there be more effective
education of prescribers and pharmacists about antimicrobial use, as well as the introduction
of information technology such as electronic prescribing.

The commission was established by federal, state and territory health ministers to
lead and coordinate improvements in safety and quality.

AAP kms/it/cdh

KEYWORD: ANTIBIOTICS (EMBARGOED)

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