Multidisciplinary Approach to Improving Antibiotic Turnaround Time in a Medical Intensive Care Unit

Abstract

Objective: To improve the timeliness of antibiotic therapy. Setting: A 13-bed university hospital medical intensive care unit. Interventions: Inservice presentations regarding the importance of antibiotic administration time, preprinted antibiotic orders, and a rearrangement of the order processing system were implemented. Results: Overall antibiotic turnaround time decreased from a median of 2.2 hours (March–May 1993) to 1.4 hours (March–May 1994) (p = 0.001). Conclusions: A multidisciplinary team working together developed a system to significantly improve antibiotic turnaround time.