PHARMACISTS are being urged to work with patients to optimise the use of antibiotics by taking them as prescribed, as part of World Antimicrobial Awareness Week.
Pharmaceutical Society of Australia (PSA) National President, Professor Chris Freeman, said the cautionary advisory label (CAL D) for antibiotics has been revised and will be published in the upcoming edition of the Australian Pharmaceutical Formulary (APF25), which is due to be released in Jan 2021.
Freeman said the move marked a change to the previous recommendations.
"This is one of a multitude of actions to help combat bacterial resistance to antibiotics," he said.
"Taking antibiotics for longer than necessary does not improve outcomes and increases the risk of acquiring resistant organisms.
"As the revised CAL D presents a change in behaviour for patients, pharmacists need to work with patients on the appropriate duration of treatment for antibiotics.
"Pharmacists should confirm that patients are aware of treatment duration and if a patient is not aware, or it is not specified on the prescription, the pharmacist should consult with the prescriber to confirm the intended duration."
The World Health Organization (WHO) noted that antimicrobials were often incorrectly prescribed or "taken without proper medical oversight".
The WHO added, "the misuse of antibiotics during the COVID-19 pandemic could lead to accelerated emergence and spread of antimicrobial resistance".
"COVID-19 is caused by a virus, not by a bacteria and therefore antibiotics should not be used to prevent or treat viral infections, unless bacterial infections are also present," the WHO said.
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