Experts at Cardiff University are leading a major multi-partner project to reduce the inappropriate prescribing of antibiotics, and help halt the rise of resistant bacteria.
A multi-disciplinary team, headed by the Department of General Practice in the School of Medicine, is working with healthcare learning specialists Smile-On Ltd to encourage GPs to consider when and why they prescribe antibiotics.
The programme, known as STAR – Stemming the Tide of Antibiotic Resistance – is funded by the Medical Research Council and also involves experts from the Department of Epidemiology and Statistics, and the School of Social Sciences at Cardiff University, NHS Wales, and Glamorgan University.
“Antibiotic resistance has been identified as a high priority nationally and internationally,” said Professor Stephen Rollnick, of Cardiff's Department of General Practice. “Inappropriate prescribing drives antimicrobial resistance, wastes money, exposes people to unnecessary side effects and encourages future consulting.
“We worked closely with Smile-On to develop an online learning environment which would deliver high quality education materials to GPs and nurse practitioners around the issue of antimicrobial resistance and antibiotic prescribing.”
Working with the London-based company, the Cardiff team has developed a website, accessible by password, on which medical practitioners evaluate the importance of the issue and then access video case studies, on which they make decisions about prescribing. They can stop and start the consultations and choose variations in strategy, as well as accessing opinions from patients, clinicians and opinion leaders.
“Smile-On were able to develop software which fulfils our requirements and is flexible enough to be adapted for other uses,” added Professor Rollnick.
The programme will be rolled out to selected general practices across Wales, while the technology is now being used to develop a new programme for staff running HIV-AIDS treatment services for children in Africa.
Patrick Cannon, chief operations officer at Smile-On, said “In collaboration with the Cardiff team, we overcame a number of technological challenges to produce a world-class learning environment, which is fit for purpose and useful for many other healthcare disciplines alongside medicine.”
The Dean of Cardiff School of Medicine, Professor David Wynford-Thomas, said “The STAR programme is an excellent example of School of Medicine experts working with business to deliver tangible health benefits. This initiative will help tackle the growing problem of antibiotic resistance around the world.”
Further Information
School of Medicine
Smile-On