Antibiotic policies--relevance to general practitioner prescribing. Family Health Services Authority, Great Britain.

In the UK rational antimicrobial prescribing in General Practice requires effective communication between the Family Health Services Authority (FHSA), microbiologists and General Practitioners (GPs). Many FHSAs now have a Pharmaceutical Adviser to assist the FHSA Medical Adviser in providing pharmaceutical advice, setting and monitoring of indicative prescribing amounts and fundholding drug budgets. They are also increasingly involved in developing practice formularies. Reviews of local prescribing often show significant differences between antimicrobial usage and local recommendations from microbiologists which are generally based on their interpretation of local laboratory susceptibility data. The efforts of two FHSAs working with local microbiologists to communicate a rational antimicrobial policy are described. This has involved conducting prescribing audit, publishing guidelines, practice visits and arranging meetings between GPs, microbiologists and FHSA staff.