Dashboard helps cut antibiotic prescribing

A GP practice has reduced overall antibiotic prescribing by 15% after using a near real-time data dashboard to identify prescribing variation, review repeat antibiotic use and support antimicrobial stewardship.

Brinnington Health Centre in Stockport also recorded a 10% reduction in broad-spectrum antibiotic prescribing, a 20% improvement in coding indications for broad-spectrum antibiotics, and better compliance with NICE guidance on sinusitis and otitis media.

The improvements have been achieved through the use of BRIT2, a prescribing dashboard developed through a collaboration between The University of Manchester and digital health provider Graphnet Health, designed to help primary care teams better understand and review antibiotic prescribing patterns.

Primary care accounts for around 81% of antibiotic prescribing in England, making it a major focus in efforts to tackle antimicrobial resistance (AMR).

The BRIT2 system allows GP practices to analyse prescribing activity in near real time, drilling down into prescribing by condition, antibiotic type, course length and repeat prescribing patterns. The dashboard also helps identify variation between clinicians and highlights areas where prescribing may fall outside NICE guidance.

Dr James Higgins, a partner at Brinnington Health Centre and Clinical Director at Tame Valley Primary Care Network, said: ‘Historically, antibiotic prescribing audits have often relied on data that is several months old, making it difficult to identify and address issues quickly.

‘What [this] allows us to do is look at prescribing behaviour almost in real time and understand what is happening at both practice and patient level. It helps us identify variation between clinicians, review prescribing decisions and support more evidence-based conversations across the team.’

The dashboard has also helped clinicians identify patients repeatedly receiving antibiotics.

Dr Higgins added: ‘One of the biggest advantages is being able to identify recurring patterns that we might otherwise miss. In some cases, patients receiving repeated antibiotics actually needed a different type of intervention altogether.’