Use of a Behavioral Economic Intervention to Reduce Antibiotic Prescription for Upper Respiratory Infections

Use of a Behavioral Economic Intervention to Reduce Antibiotic Prescription for Upper Respiratory Infections

Use of a Behavioral Economic Intervention to Reduce Antibiotic Prescription for Upper Respiratory Infections

In an effort to implement Choosing Wisely guidelines and decrease patient harm, we will implement and evaluate a clinician audit-feedback and behavioral "nudge" initiative to reduce low-value antibiotics for URIs. Using a quasi-experiment (pre-post) design, antibiotic prescriptions for URI at LAC+USC Urgent Care Center (intervention site) vs. Olive View-UCLA Urgent Care Center (control site) will used to test the effects of behavioral "nudge" on antibiotic prescribing.

National prescription rates for low-value antibiotics for uncomplicated upper respiratory infections (URIs) remain unacceptably high, including at LAC+USC Medical Center-one of the largest safety net medical centers in the U.S. Using a quasi-experiment (pre-post) design, antibiotic prescriptions for URI at LAC+USC Urgent Care Center (intervention site) vs. Olive View-UCLA Urgent Care Center (control site) will be compared. A three-part intervention at LAC+USC consists of (1) the urgent care medical director emailing Choosing Wisely® guidelines and presented journal club to all 16 urgent care clinicians, and then (2) leveraging EHR performance data to provide individual clinicians with case-specific audit-feedback (both via emails and in-person while precepting nurse practitioners) on low-value antibiotic prescribing, and (3) using a behavioral "nudge", urgent care clinicians will sign a large poster committing to avoid prescribing low-value antibiotics for uncomplicated URIs, which will be displayed in the clinic. In contrast, the control site (Urgent Care Center at Olive View-Medical Center) will receive Centers for Disease Control prescription pads for non-antibiotic treatments (e.g., decongestants) that offer patients alternatives to antibiotics, in a broader health system effort to reduce antibiotic prescribing. Patient with URIs (e.g., acute bronchitis, bronchitis NOS, excluding guideline-based red flags such as COPD, HIV) will be identified using electronic health record clinical billable data and low-value antibiotic prescriptions rates per visit will be monitored at both sites. Differences in prescriptions rates will be determined using an interrupted time-series analysis comparing utilization between sites using a repeated measures logistic regression model. .

Antibiotics, Upper Respiratory Infections, Safety-Net Hospitals, Behavioral Economics, Choosing Wisely

The intervention Site (Urgent Care Center at LAC+USC Medical Center) will receive a three part intervention consisting of (1) Email Choosing Wisely® guidelines and presented journal club to all 16 urgent care clinicians, (2) leveraging EHR performance data to provide individual clinicians with case-specific audit-feedback (both via emails and in-person while precepting nurse practitioners) on low-value antibiotic prescribing, and (3) using a behavioral "nudge", urgent care clinicians will sign a large poster committing to avoid prescribing low-value antibiotics for uncomplicated URIs displayed in the clinic.

The control site (Urgent Care Center at Olive View-Medical Center) will receive broader health system efforts to reduce antibiotic prescribing consisting of Center for Disease Control prescription pads for non-antibiotic treatments (e.g., decongestants) that offer patients alternatives to antibiotics.

Changes in inappropriate antibiotic prescriptions rates per visit before and after implementation of intervention at both sites

Coding Shift (ie, a shift in use of diagnostic codes to conditions that are more antibiotic appropriate) in URI diagnosis

Change frequency of proportion of antibiotic appropriate diagnoses before intervention and after at both sites.

Inclusion Criteria: all patient receiving treatment for Upper Respiratory Infections (defined by ICD codes EHR billable codes) at both LAC+USC Medical Center Urgent Care or Olive View-UCLA Medical Center Exclusion Criteria: Patients not receiving treatment for Upper Respiratory Infections at both LAC+USC Medical Center Urgent Care or Olive View-UCLA Medical Center

Meeker D, Knight TK, Friedberg MW, Linder JA, Goldstein NJ, Fox CR, Rothfeld A, Diaz G, Doctor JN. Nudging guideline-concordant antibiotic prescribing: a randomized clinical trial. JAMA Intern Med. 2014 Mar;174(3):425-31. doi: 10.1001/jamainternmed.2013.14191.

Gonzales R, Steiner JF, Lum A, Barrett PH Jr. Decreasing antibiotic use in ambulatory practice: impact of a multidimensional intervention on the treatment of uncomplicated acute bronchitis in adults. JAMA. 1999 Apr 28;281(16):1512-9. doi: 10.1001/jama.281.16.1512.