A study, published in Clinical Infectious Diseases, assessed trends in antibiotic expenditure by U.S. healthcare setting between 2010 and 2015.
Researchers extracted systemic antibiotic expenditures information from the QuintilesIMS National Sales Perspectives database. They studied trends from January 2010 to December 2015.
Here are five study findings:
1. Antibiotic expenditures totaled $56 billion over the six-year period.
2. A little over 59 percent of expenditures were associated with the outpatient setting.
3. Overall antibiotic expenditure in 2015 was $8.8 billion, 16.6 percent less than total expenditure in 2010, which was $10.6 billion.
4. Antibiotic expenditures decreased in the community by 25.5 percent from 2010 to 2015.
5. However, outpatient clinics and mail service pharmacy expenditures on antibiotics grew significantly.
"These results reinforce the importance of antibiotic stewardship efforts across the spectrum of healthcare," study authors concluded.