British Columbia Prescriber Feedback Program - Antimicrobial Resistance

The goal of this study is to evaluate an educational intervention that aims to reduce the number of unnecessary antibiotics prescribed by family physicians and nurse practitioners in British Columbia, Canada.

The intervention materials include a confidential personalized prescribing "portrait" and an evidence-based educational summary (therapeutics letter), accompanied by an introduction letter.

The main research questions are:

1. Will the intervention lead to a reduction in the overall number of antibiotics prescriptions started? 2. Will the intervention lead to a reduction in the proportion of antibiotics prescribed that are likely unnecessary, especially prescriptions for upper respiratory tract infections, acute bronchitis, acute sinusitis?

Researchers will conduct an intervention study with family physicians and nurse practitioners in British Columbia, Canada. Participant clinicians will be randomly assigned to one of two groups. The Early Group will consist of 80% of the participants and will receive the intervention (prescribing portrait, evidence summary, and introduction letter) at the start of the study. The Delayed Group will consist of 20% of participants and will receive the intervention about nine months later. This study design allows most practitioners to receive the intervention early while still allowing time to compare the two groups to assess the impact. To estimate the impact of the intervention, researchers will use administrative health data to compare the prescribing of the Early Group with prescribing of the Delayed Group.