Antibiotic prescribing excellence in primary care - APEX PC
Project Details
Project Lead: Dr Ruby Biezen
Patron ID: PAT1028
Aim:
This project will implement and evaluate an AMS program into general practice to provide timely audit and reporting to GPs using automation, along with education webinars and information resources to support best practice antibiotic prescribing for four common infective conditions:
Children under five years of age:
- Urinary tract infections
- Otitis media
All ages:
- Tonsillitis/Pharyngitis
- Dental conditions
Antibiotic resistance occurs when antibiotics that once treated bacterial infections are no longer effective. This growing global issue threatens public health by increasing mortality, limiting treatment options, prolonging illness, and driving up healthcare costs and side effects. Addressing inappropriate antibiotic use in primary care is essential to slowing the development of resistance and protecting the effectiveness of current treatments.
The Antibiotic Prescribing Excellence in Primary Care (APEX-PC) project aims to improve the safety and quality of antibiotic use for Victorians by increasing concordance with evidence-based guidelines (Therapeutic Guidelines) for selected common infections. The project supports general practitioners to review and reflect on their prescribing patterns, helping to ensure that antibiotic choices are appropriate, effective, and aligned with best-practice recommendations. In doing so, APEX-PC contributes to the prevention of antibiotic resistance and promotes safer care in the community.
This project will assist GPs increase antibiotic prescribing concordance against Therapeutic Guidelines and reduce inappropriate antibiotic prescribing in Australian general practice. We will be developing an AMS program, consisting of three components: audit and feedback reporting, education webinar and resource support to participating practices. For the audit and feedback component of the study, we will be extracting Patron data to assess antibiotic prescribing. Data will be analysed and feedback reports will be provided to participating practices.
Research Lead:
Collaborators
- Safer Care Victoria - https://www.safercare.vic.gov.au/improvement/projects/antibiotic-prescribing
Research Outcomes
So far, 97 general practitioners (GPs) from 31 clinics across Victoria are taking part in the APEX-PC project, with progress tracked across three audit periods to monitor improvement over time. Early results show meaningful gains in prescribing practices: for urinary tract infections, concordance with national guidelines has increased by almost 7%, and the use of non-recommended antibiotics for ear infections in children under five has dropped by nearly 6%. In addition, 80% of GPs who attended project webinars reported that the sessions would influence their future prescribing decisions.
The APEX-PC project is being delivered from June 2024 to December 2025, with a dedicated evaluation phase continuing until 30 June 2026. This will allow sufficient time to measure the sustainability of changes in prescribing behaviour and the project’s contribution to safer, evidence-based antibiotic use in primary care.