A healthcare worker and patient-informed approach to oral antibiotic decision making during the hospital-to-home transition

In a qualitative study of healthcare workers and patients discharged on oral antibiotics, we identified 5 barriers to antibiotic decision making at hospital discharge: clinician perceptions of patient expectations, diagnostic uncertainty, attending physician-led versus multidisciplinary team culture, not accounting for total antibiotic duration, and need for discharge prior to complete data.

Automated summary

This qualitative study identified 5 barriers to antibiotic decision making at hospital discharge for healthcare workers and patients on oral antibiotics, including clinician perceptions of patient expectations, diagnostic uncertainty, culture differences between attending physician-led and multidisciplinary teams, lack of consideration of total antibiotic duration, and the need for discharge before complete data is available.