Who is asking? Requests for antimicrobial prescribing advice received by hospital pharmacists

Doctors are perceived as the primary decision makers in antimicrobial therapy, but prescribing decisions are influenced by the multidisciplinary team. Antimicrobial stewardship (AMS) programs formalise interprofessional advice-giving. No studies capture the advice provided by pharmacists. This study aimed to describe the volume and nature of antimicrobial prescribing advice that healthcare professionals seek from hospital pharmacists. A prospective audit of antimicrobial-related advice requests received by pharmacists (n = 18) at an Australian public hospital was undertaken in July 2020. Antimicrobial advice was sought from 11 pharmacists on 300 occasions. Most requests (80%) were received by the AMS pharmacist. A mean (range) of 30 (17–40) requests per day was recorded and the AMS pharmacist received 24 (16–31) requests daily. Most requests came from the intensive care unit (22.1%), pharmacy (21.4%), and infectious diseases (17.1%). The AMS pharmacist was mostly contacted by consultants and pharmacists, and other pharmacists were contacted by registrars and junior medical officers. Despite COVID-19 adaptations, face-to-face interaction was most common. This audit demonstrates the value of an AMS pharmacist, and indicates the importance of face-to-face interactions and the formalisation of pharmacists' role in prescribing decision-making. Pharmacists provided antimicrobial advice daily to other healthcare professionals. Further research is required to provide insights into the barriers and enablers to effective advice-giving interactions.