Antimicrobial Resistance: Where to from Here?

Conclusion Newer tools capable of informing these early decisions are under development, but integrating an awareness of AMR into both hospital and GP practice is a key component of winning the fight against superbugs. Throughout the development process, discussion between clinicians and researchers will ensure that diagnostic tools are effective, and also meet the needs of frontline staff. In the mean-time, cultivating an AMR aware mind-set is the best defence against over-prescription. Understanding and accepting the systematic, ubiquitous biases which affect our judgement of risk is particularly helpful. For example, doctors are expected to protect both individual and public health; roles which sometimes conflict when prescribing antibiotics. Developing the tendency to take pause and consider whether antibiotics are necessary is a simple yet powerful action which can reduce the chances of over-prescription in both the GP clinic and hospital settings. Acknowledgements: Guest co-author Joanna Tedeschi is a psychology student with a bachelor degree in Pathology and Lab Medicine and some experience in cancer research. Being fascinated with cognitive psychology, she is motivated to spread a general knowledge among health workers about when and how cognitive biases impact judgements of risk and decision-making. She believes that these insights can be used to improve patient outcomes and system efficiency. References: Mulroney, KT, Hall, JM, Huang, X, Turnbull, E, Bzdyl, NM, C...
Source: Life in the Fast Lane - Category: Emergency Medicine Authors: Tags: Clinical Research Microbiology AMR Antimicrobial resistance ESBL Joanna Tedeschi MROs multi-resistant organisms multidrug resistant organisms (MROs) Source Type: blogs