Quality of antibiotic prescription during office hours and out-of-hours in Flemish primary care, using European quality indicators

Figures & data

Figure 1. Disease-specific quality indicators for antibiotic prescribing in Flemish general practice during office hours (2003–2010). (a) The percentage of patients prescribed an antibiotic (indicator a). R78, R74, U71,R76, R75, H71, R81: see Box 1. (b) The percentage of patients prescribed an antibiotic, and receiving the antibiotic recommended by the guideline (indicator b). (c) The percentage of patients prescribed an antibiotic, and receiving a quinolone (indicator c).

Table 1. Average value (%) for the disease-specific antibiotic prescribing quality indicators over a six-year period (from 1 January 2004 to 31 December 2009) during office hours and out-of-hours.

ICPC-2-R code^a	R78^a	R74^a	U71^a	R76^a	R75^a	H71^a	R81^a
Percentage of patients prescribed an antibiotic (indicator a)
Acceptable range	≤ 30	≤ 20	≥ 80	≤ 20	≤ 20	≤ 20	≥ 90
Office hours	80	37	90^b	84	66	65	71
Out-of-hours	73	32	96^b	76	65	62	72
Percentage of patients prescribed an antibiotic, and receiving the guideline recommended antibiotic (indicator b)
Acceptable range	≥ 80	≥ 80	≥ 80	≥ 80	≥ 80	≥ 80	≥ 80
Office hours	32	3	46	17	29	49	25
Out-of-hours	34	2	40	11	23	42	44
Percentage of patients prescribed an antibiotic, and receiving quinolones (indicator c)
Acceptable range	≤ 5	≤ 5	≤ 5	≤ 5	≤ 5	≤ 5	≤ 5
Office hours	13	3^b	47	< 1^b	8	2^b	16
Out-of-hours	7	2^b	52	< 1^b	4^b	< 1^b	10

^aSee Box 1.

^bWithin the acceptable range.