Information for the public
New antimicrobials
New antimicrobials
What should organisations responsible for healthcare services do?
When a new antimicrobial becomes available, organisations responsible for healthcare services should think about plans for how it might be used for patients in their care. The plans may involve a local group that makes decisions about medicines (local decision‑making group) and is made up of people who work in different areas of healthcare (for example, local GPs, local hospitals, local dentists) and members of the public (including patients). If involved, the group should discuss if the new antimicrobial is needed and if so how it will be used in practice.
When a new antimicrobial has been approved for use in the local area, organisations responsible for healthcare services should think about monitoring:
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whether it is being used as recommended in local and national guidelines
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how much it is costing the organisation
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how well it is working to treat infections and whether there are any concerns about safety
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how patterns of antimicrobial resistance in the local area are linked to prescribing of antimicrobials.
What should local decision-making groups do?
When local decision‑making groups are deciding whether to use a new antimicrobial in the local area, they are likely to ask for help from people with experience of using antimicrobials. These may be members of the antimicrobial stewardship team.
NICE has said that a local decision‑making group should think about the following things when deciding whether a new antimicrobial should be used locally:
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whether the new antimicrobial is needed and if so whether the need is urgent
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which patients it will be used for and which types of infection
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the dose, how often it should be given and how (for example, by mouth or by injection)
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the side effects and how these might affect patients taking the antimicrobial as prescribed
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whether there are situations for the patient in which the antimicrobial should not be used (contraindications).
The group should also think about patterns of antimicrobial resistance in the local area and whether the use of the new antimicrobial should be restricted. If the group does decide to restrict use, they should:
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record the reasons why
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record when the new antimicrobial can be used and for which group of patients
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regularly reconsider the decision to make sure the restriction should continue.
The group should make sure that all the information about any restriction is available to the public.
Local decision‑making groups should make sure that health professionals who prescribe medicines know where they can find up‑to‑date information about the new antimicrobial.