Controlling antibiotic usage - analysis of nationally published data from GP practices including demography, geography, comorbidity and prescribing factors highlights opportunities to reduce overall prescribing through changes in discretionary prescribing choices.

Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is a critical and worsening public health threat driven by high volumes of use and inappropriate clinical targeting. Ecological studies show an association between antibiotic use and resistance rates. Moderation of antibiotic prescribing requires a deeper understanding of differences in local prescribing behaviours. The purpose of this study was to understand the factors in antibiotic prescribing determined by discretionary choice behaviour that may provide insights into enhanced methods to modify antibiotic usage and control AMR. Oral antibiotic prescribing information extracted from general practitioner (GP) prescribing data were aggregated by applying WHO Anatomical …