The effect of an educational program upon hospital antibiotic use.

The effect of an educational program on the use of antibiotics was studied in a university-affiliated Veterans Administration Hospital. Following an initial survey of antibiotic usage, educational presentations of the collected data were made to the hospital staff which included specific prescribing errors and alternative recommendations. Then, another survey was conducted. Measurable changes following the educational presentations were limited to decreasing costs of unjustified antibiotic use. An effect was noted in decreasing unjustified use of antibiotics in prophylactic situations, but this remained the most common misuse. Thus, an educational program directed at specific prescribing errors produced little noticeable effect on the use of antibiotics in a university-affiliated hospital. The study indicates that more direct measures, such as control of use of particular antibiotics, may be required to produce a meaningful change in prescribing practices.