The Etiquette That Dictates Antibiotic Prescribing in Hospitals

Misjudgments in antibiotic prescribing contribute to a variety of clinical ills, from bad patient outcomes to high rates of drug resistance and soaring healthcare costs. However, despite clinical infectious disease and pharmacy consultants, not to mention widely available guidelines covering most clinical circumstances, poor prescribing habits persist.

British researchers conducted face-to-face structured interviews with 39 staff members (10 doctors, 10 pharmacists, 18 nurses, and 1 midwife) at four affiliated London hospitals and solicited their observations about antibiotic prescribing. Analysis of the interviews using a standard sociologic approach to qualitative data revealed a prevailing “prescribing etiquette.” In it, senior doctors fe…