Effects of Computer-Aided Decision Support Systems on Appropriate Antibiotic Prescribing by Medical Interns: A Quasi-Experimental Study.

Abstract

Literature suggests that the adoption of guidelines for antibiotic prescribing has a significant impact on improving prescription practices of physicians; thus, this study aimed to assess the effectiveness of computer-aided decision support systems (CA-DSS) on antibiotic prescribing among medical interns. A prospective before-and-after interventional study was conducted on 40 medical interns. The interns were asked to use the CA-DSS during a one-month internship course at the infectious disease department. The main outcome measure was the knowledge of medical interns regarding the type, name, volume, usual dosages, and administration route of antibiotics prescribed. Paired t-test was applied to assess the change of medical interns' knowledge before and after the study. There was a statistically significant difference between the mean score of interns' medical knowledge before 5.4±2 and after 9.1±2.8 using the CA-DSS (p = 0.000). CA-DSS as an IT-based training intervention was effective for the knowledge of medical interns to prescribe the right antibiotics for acute respiratory infections.