Multidisciplinary Approach to Improving Antibiotic Turnaround Time in a Medical Intensive Care Unit
- Resource Type
- Article
- Authors
- Watling, Sharon M; Harter, Phyllis J; Lee, Susan M; Yanos, John
- Source
- Journal of Pharmacy Technology; November 1996, Vol. 12 Issue: 6 p280-283, 4p
- Subject
- Language
- ISSN
- 87551225; 15494810
Objective: To improve the timeliness of antibiotic therapy.Setting: A 13-bed university hospital medical intensive care unit.Interventions: Inservice presentations regarding the importance of antibiotic administration time, preprinted antibiotic orders, and a rearrangement of the order processing system were implemented.Results: Overall antibiotic turnaround time decreased from a median of 2.2 hours (March–May 1993) to 1.4 hours (March–May 1994) (p = 0.001).Conclusions: A multidisciplinary team working together developed a system to significantly improve antibiotic turnaround time.