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December 4, 2015

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Efforts to curb antibiotic use pay dividends

A CAMPAIGN launched in 2007 to reduce the amount of antibiotics prescribed and used has been “a great success,” an industry insider said yesterday.

Eight years ago, 50 percent of all drugs prescribed at hospitals were antibiotics, but now that figure is just 10 percent, said Dr Zhong Mingkang, director of Shanghai Pharmaceutical Association and director of pharmacy at Huashan Hospital.

“Antibiotics abuse used to be a serious problem,” he told an industry conference.

“Doctors would prescribe them too readily and patients took them without question.”

Since 2007, however, doctors in Shanghai have faced tighter regulations and limitations on the types of antibiotics they can provide, and all prescriptions are closely monitored.

“In 2007, five of the 10 most frequently prescribed drugs in Shanghai hospitals were antibiotics. Now there are none in the top 10,” Zhong said.

As well as the monitoring carried out inside hospitals, the health authority has established a database to track the use of antibiotics nationwide.

“The system has helped to streamline our administrative procedures and medical practices greatly,” said Hu Jianping, vice director of the National Health and Family Planning Commission’s information center.


 

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