Patient Safety Bulletin

AHRQ Grantee Profile: Jeffrey Linder, M.D., M.P.H., Analyzes Prescription Practices to Improve Antibiotic Stewardship

Our newest grantee profile explores how the AHRQ-funded research of Jeffrey Linder, M.D., M.P.H., who is chief of the Division of General Internal Medicine and Geriatrics and Michael A. Gertz Professor of Medicine at Northwestern University, has advanced the practice of antibiotic stewardship. Dr. Linder has examined the prescription rate of antibiotics for acute respiratory infections in a variety of medical settings and tested interventions to help providers better adhere to clinical guidelines. Dr. Linder’s latest research, presented at IDWeek 2018, analyzed more than 500,000 prescriptions from 514 outpatient clinics and found that clinicians prescribed antibiotics without an infection-related diagnosis nearly half of the time, a serious public health concern because it could lead to the further development of antibiotic-resistant bacteria and other organisms. Access Dr. Linder’s profile to learn more about this important area of health services research.