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Impact of incorporating electronic medical record tools on optimal antibiotic durations at discharge for uncomplicated community-acquired pneumonia: a quasi-experimental study

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  13 April 2026

Merin Babu
Affiliation:
Department of Pharmacy, Henry Ford Macomb Hospital, USA
Amy E. Beaulac
Affiliation:
Department of Pharmacy, Henry Ford West Bloomfield Hospital, USA
Janeen Dubay
Affiliation:
Department of Quality, Henry Ford West Bloomfield Hospital, USA
Lori Leman
Affiliation:
Department of Quality, Henry Ford Macomb Hospital, USA
Anita B. Shallal
Affiliation:
Department of Infectious Diseases, Henry Ford Hospital, USA
Rachel M. Kenney
Affiliation:
Department of Pharmacy, Henry Ford Hospital, USA
Brian M. Church
Affiliation:
Epic Helios Pharmacy Team, Henry Ford Health, USA
Robert McCollom
Affiliation:
Epic Helios Pharmacy Team, Henry Ford Health, USA
Michael P. Veve
Affiliation:
Department of Pharmacy, Henry Ford Hospital, USADepartment of Pharmacy Practice, Eugene Applebaum College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences, Wayne State Universtiy, USA
Sage B. Greenlee*
Affiliation:
Department of Pharmacy, Henry Ford Macomb Hospital, USA
*
Corresponding author: Sage B. Greenlee; Email: sgreenl2@hfhs.org

Abstract

Objective:

To evaluate the impact of electronic medical record (EMR) transitions of care tools on antibiotic durations for uncomplicated community-acquired pneumonia (CAP).

Design:

IRB-approved, quasi-experiment.

Setting:

Five acute-care hospitals in Michigan.

Patients:

Hospitalized adults with uncomplicated CAP between 07/01/2023 and 11/30/2023 (pre-intervention) and 07/01/2024 and 11/30/2024 (post-intervention) were included. Patients were excluded if antibiotics were completed prior to discharge date, admitted to intensive care unit, respiratory culture with methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus or Pseudomonas aeruginosa ≤12-months before admission, suspected concomitant infection, or complicated CAP.

Methods:

EMR tools implemented March–May 2024 included a total antibiotic days counter and an inpatient stop date carryover on discharge order. The primary outcome was the proportion of patients prescribed ≤6-calendar-days of therapy. Secondary outcomes included 30-day CAP-related readmission, Clostridioides difficile infection (CDI), multidrug-resistant organisms (MDRO) ≤90-days of discharge, and days of therapy prescribed at discharge.

Results:

234 patients were included: 124 pre- and 110 post-intervention. A higher proportion of post-intervention patients received ≤6-days of therapy (54% pre- vs 72.7% post-intervention, P = 0.003). No notable differences were seen in CDI or MDROs. Pre-intervention patients experienced more CAP-related readmissions (12.1% pre- vs. 4.5% post-intervention, P = 0.039) and more days of therapy at discharge [3-d (IQR 2–4) pre- vs. 2-d (IQR 1–4) post-intervention, P < 0.001]. After adjustment for confounders, the post-intervention group had 2-fold increased odds of receiving ≤ 6-days of therapy for CAP (adjOR, 2.27; 95%CI, 1.31–3.93).

Conclusion:

Implementation of EMR transitions of care tools significantly improved antibiotic durations in hospitalized adults with CAP, without negatively impacting patient outcomes.

Information

Type
Original Article
Creative Commons
Creative Common License - CCCreative Common License - BY
This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution licence (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted re-use, distribution and reproduction, provided the original article is properly cited.
Copyright
© The Author(s), 2026. Published by Cambridge University Press on behalf of The Society for Healthcare Epidemiology of America
Figure 0

Figure 1.EMR transitions of care tools.

Figure 1

Figure 2.Inclusion and exclusion of patients.

Figure 2

Table 1.Demographics of patients with community acquired pneumonia before and after implementation of EMR duration of therapy interventions

Figure 3

Table 2.Antibiotic classes and spectrum used in the treatment of uncomplicated community acquired pneumonia

Figure 4

Table 3.Secondary outcomes of patients with community acquired pneumonia before and after implementation of EMR duration of therapy interventions

Figure 5

Table 4.Variables associated with prescribing ≤6 days of antibiotic therapy for CAP