NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - A quality improvement program at a single children's hospital succeeded in cutting back inappropriate antibiotic prescribing, in a new study. Researchers found within six months of introducing new electronic and educational tools, doctors were meeting national guidelines for treatment of childhood pneumonia in 100 percent of patients. "It's quite truthfully astounding," said Dr. Thomas Brogan, a pediatrician at the University of Washington School of Medicine in Seattle who wasn't involved in the new study. "They did an incredible job."Brogan said the program, instituted by Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center, can serve as a model for other institutions looking to get their antibiotic prescribing practices up to speed with current recommendations.
