Antibiotic Use Linked to Information Technology in US Nursing Homes

The integration of information technology (IT) in US nursing homes (NHs) was positively associated with antibiotic use among residents, according to findings published in the Journal of the American Medical Directors Association.

“Up to 15% of the 1.4 million US NH residents receive antibiotics daily. Antibiotic use in NHs is often inappropriate, contributing to quality and safety concerns as well as antibiotic resistance,” authors noted.

Researchers evaluated assessments by residents from a random sample of Medicare-certified NHs. Data included 4 annual surveys (2013-2017) that measured IT maturity. Resident and facility characteristics were determined using Minimum Data Set 3.0 assessments and Certification and Survey Provider Enhanced Reporting data, respectively.

IT maturity was defined as “the extent to which facilities possess and use diverse technological devices and software that are integrated across resident care, clinical support, and administrative activities.”

The study included 80,237 residents across 817 NHs, and 219,461 Minimum Data Set 3.0 assessments. Findings indicated IT maturity increased over the study period, and there was a positive association between IT integration and antibiotic use (AOR 1.072, 95% CI 1.025, 1.122).

“IT components that integrate administrative activities, which can provide greater access to data sources across the organization as a whole, was associated with changes in antibiotic use,” authors concluded. “Further evaluation is needed to determine if antibiotic use is more appropriate with higher maturity such that policy makers can encourage IT with these capabilities to promote antibiotic stewardship.”

Reference:
Cohen CC, Powell K, Dick AW, et al. Examining nursing home information technology maturity and antibiotic use among long-term care residents. J Am Med Dir Assoc. Published online February 13, 2022. doi:10.1016/j.jamda.2022.01.052