Using Behavior Change Interventions to Strengthen Antibiotic Prescribing Practices

Conan MacDougall, PharmD, professor of clinical pharmacy, University of California, San Francisco, explains what individuals should consider when it comes to adopting interventions in antibiotic stewardship programs.

Interview Transcript (slightly modified for readability)

“The take home message that I’d like people to think about when they’re considering how to affect positive behavioral change, is really changing the antibiotic prescribing environment. What are the choices that our clinicians are presented with when they’re picking an antibiotic? Even something like, what button is presented first in a list of antibiotic choices, or [is] an antibiotic selected by default? Those have very powerful effects and require very little effort, and so those are the types of interventions that we may need to adopt going forward, as we expand antimicrobial stewardship programs.”