New feature: the Outpatient Module
Global-PPS is launching a new addition to its web-based tool, namely the outpatient module. This new feature was developed following requests of several Global-PPS participants, as patient-level data from the outpatient setting are generally limited. The outpatient module allows institutions to measure antimicrobial use in outpatients, meaning patients who are not admitted overnight. The module is particularly useful for facilities such as outpatient clinics, primary or community healthcare centres and certain hospital departments including emergency, day surgery and outpatient departments.
The advantages of this cross-sectional method include:
- Ease of use
- Collects detailed information
- Minimum workload
- Fast way to quantify and evaluate data
- Follow-up of prescribing behaviours in time
The outpatient module offers a trustworthy way to collect antimicrobial use data in outpatients in high as well as low and middle income countries. Participating institutions receive extensive, high-quality information about prescribing patterns in their outpatient units. Furthermore, the outpatient module supports real-time data collection. In other words, data can immediately be entered in the Global-PPS web application during data collection, consequently speeding up and simplifying data entry.
On top of that, users will be able to generate feedback reports and Excel-files including detailed information about the AWaRe classification and ATC codes of the prescribed antimicrobials.
What is the difference with the inpatient module?
The most important difference is that in the inpatient module denominators are collected at ward level, whereas for the outpatient module this happens at patient level. This means that a set of variables is collected for each patient who is seen in the unit during a specific time slot, with more detailed information collected only for patients with an antimicrobial prescription.
Timeline
Following protocol development and the extension of the application last year, the data entry pilot was launched during the first quarter of 2023. Several participants of the Global-PPS network provided valuable comments and recommendations in the development of the protocol. The Global-PPS network in Nigeria assisted by collecting pilot data in the field and testing the online data entry application.
At the end of April 2023, the outpatient module is released worldwide which includes the protocol, the tool, the IT manual and the function to export raw data in Excel. As of May 2023, the data collection will be possible worldwide. The current existing real-time feedback reports will then be updated with slides whereby individual institutional results will be benchmarked with country and, in time, regional results.