Drug guidelines ‘useless’ without tracking how Hong Kong family doctors prescribe antibiotics

Microbiologist warns that efforts to combat superbug spread will achieve little if government does not audit private doctors’ antibiotic prescriptions and give them feedback

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Overuse of antibiotics in Hong Kong has resulted in a five-fold increase since 2007 in cases of one particular drug-resistant superbug spreading in the community. Photo: Alamy Stock Photo

Published: 1:19pm, 14 Nov 2017Updated: 9:49pm, 14 Nov 2017

Guidelines for family doctors on the proper use of antibiotics would be “totally useless” if there is no way to monitor their prescriptions, a leading microbiologist has warned a day after the Hong Kong government took further action to reduce overuse of such medication.

Professor Yuen Kwok-yung, who chairs a government expert panel on antimicrobial resistance, said on Tuesday there was a lack of data on how private doctors prescribe antibiotics to treat infections.

“It’s necessary to monitor such data, how much we’re using, whether we’re using more or less.

“[Otherwise], guidelines would be totally useless in the long run if we don’t audit antibiotic use and give feedback to doctors,” Yuen said on a radio programme.

HKU microbiologist Professor Yuen Kwok-yung, who chairs the government’s High-level Steering Committee on Antimicrobial Resistance, said prescriptions of antibiotics by private doctors should be monitored. Photo: K.Y. Cheng

Overuse of antibiotics is a grave threat globally. It has led to infections resistant to the medication, known as superbugs, resulting in higher rates of treatment failure and death.