A team of researchers, led by Jason Doctor, associate professor of the USC School of Pharmacy, have hope that behavioral interventions could help doctors slow the rise of treatment-resistant infections in hospitals and clinics, reduce adverse drug events in patients, and lower health care costs.
Behavioral interventions that appealed to doctors’ competitive spirits and desire to strengthen their reputations motivated them to significantly reduce unnecessary antibiotic prescriptions.
“Until now, most efforts to reduce antibiotic prescribing have involved education, reminders or giving financial incentives to physicians,” said principal investigator and senior author Jason Doctor, associate professor at USC School of Pharmacy and director of health informatics for the USC Schaeffer Center for Health Policy and Economics.
“We decided to test if socially motivated interventions, such as instilling pride in their performance or making physicians accountable for their decisions, would help address the problem. Our findings here suggest they may.”
For a video about this research, click here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LPBIJwYoM_o&feature=youtu.be
Read more: https://pressroom.usc.edu/a-nudge-reduces-doctors-unnecessary-antibiotic-prescription-study-finds/
Read more on KPCC: http://www.scpr.org/news/2016/02/09/57323/behavior-modification-might-curb-antibiotic-overpr/