Delayed antibiotic prescription forms

Request for feedback

At the end of last year, the National Antibiotic Committee (NAC) published (on a trial basis) two prescription pads for upper respiratory tract infections: one for delayed antibiotic prescribing as well as another for symptomatic medication in viral illnesses that would not require antibiotic treatment. These were posted to doctors with a registered Maltese postal address.

Digital copies of the two pads can be found at: https://deputyprimeminister.gov.mt/en/nac/Pages/Information-for-Healthcare-Professionals.aspx

If you are a practising specialist in family medicine or paediatrician, we would be grateful for your help to help us gauge the impact of this initiative. To this end, we would like to ask you to answer the following short survey, which should not take more than a couple of minutes to complete.

Thank you so much for your help and feedback

Sincerely

Michael Borg

Chair: National Antibiotic Committee

Question Title

* 1. Did you receive the NAC prescription pads?

Yes

If you did not receive a set of pads, please inform us on antibiotic.mdh@gov.mt and include your postal address

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* 2. How useful were the NAC delayed antibiotic prescription forms for your practice?

Extremely useful

Very useful

Somewhat useful

Not so useful

Not at all useful

Did not receive them

Please feel free to comment further:

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* 3. How useful did you find the NAC prescription pad for non-antibiotic symptomatic medication in reducing patient demand for antibiotics?

Extremely useful

Very useful

Somewhat useful

Not so useful

Not at all useful

Did not receive them

Feel free to comment further:

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* 4. In the peak winter months, how often did you issue a delayed antibiotic prescription in any format (i.e. either the NAC form or any other that you may have formulated yourself)?

Every day

A few times a week

About once a week

A few times a month

Once a month

Less than once a month

Never

I do not believe in delayed antibiotic prescribing

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* 5. If you practice delayed antibiotic prescribing, for which conditions do you use it and how often?

	Commonly	Occasionally	Rarely	Never
Common cold	Common cold Commonly	Common cold Occasionally	Common cold Rarely	Common cold Never
Sore throat & pharyngitis	Sore throat & pharyngitis Commonly	Sore throat & pharyngitis Occasionally	Sore throat & pharyngitis Rarely	Sore throat & pharyngitis Never
Acute bronchitis	Acute bronchitis Commonly	Acute bronchitis Occasionally	Acute bronchitis Rarely	Acute bronchitis Never
Sinusitis	Sinusitis Commonly	Sinusitis Occasionally	Sinusitis Rarely	Sinusitis Never
Otitis media	Otitis media Commonly	Otitis media Occasionally	Otitis media Rarely	Otitis media Never
Laryngitis	Laryngitis Commonly	Laryngitis Occasionally	Laryngitis Rarely	Laryngitis Never
Influenza	Influenza Commonly	Influenza Occasionally	Influenza Rarely	Influenza Never

Feel free to comment further:

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* 6. Do you post-date any delayed prescription (that you prepare yourself) so that it is only valid 2 - 3 days after the consultation?

Always

Sometimes

Occasionally

Rarely

Never

Do not use delayed prescribing

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* 7. From your experience, how reassured are patients when they receive a delayed antibiotic prescription?

Very reassured

Somewhat reassured

Neither reassured nor anxious

Somewhat anxious

Very anxious

Feel free to add any further comment

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* 8. From your experience, when provided with a delayed prescription, how likely are patients to actually wait before going to get their antibiotic from the pharmacy?

Very likely

Likely

Neither likely nor unlikely

Unlikely

Very unlikely

Feel free to comment

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* 9. In our local context and culture, how effective do you believe is delayed prescription to reduce unnecessary antibiotic use in Malta?

Extremely effective

Very effective

Somewhat effective

Not so effective

Not at all effective

Feel free to comment further:

Question Title

* 10. Should the NAC delayed prescription pads continue to be provided?

Yes

If yes, what can be done to improve them?