In Michigan, overall antibiotic prescribing for adult Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan members decreased 9.3 percent from 2007-2009 but increased 4.5 percent for children during the same time period. Other findings from the Antibiotic Prescribing and Use issue brief include the following:
• BCBSM spent nearly $16.5 million for the top 10 antibiotics prescribed to adult members. Of these 10 most commonly prescribed drugs, five were listed by the National Committee for Quality Assurance as “antibiotics of concern”. For BCBSM pediatric members, three of the 10 most commonly prescribed antibiotics were “antibiotics of concern.”
• Regions with higher overall antibiotic use rates for children also had higher percentages of antibiotics used for conditions with viral diagnoses.
• Geographic differences were more pronounced in the pediatric population, with the highest prescribing rates clustered in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, northern lower Michigan and along the Ohio border.
Gary L. Freed, MD, chief of the Division of General Pediatrics at the University of Michigan, said the geographic difference may be due to fewer pediatricians in largely rural areas, leading more children to be seen by family practitioners.
Read the news release about prescribing patterns in Michigan.
Read other coverage about patient safety:
– AHRQ Releases National Healthcare Quality and Disparities Report
– AOHP’s No. 1 Concern: Bloodborne Pathogens
– Patient Safety Tool: Joint Commission’s ‘Do Not Use’ List of Abbreviations
