The 5x5 Antimicrobial Audit

The 5x5 Antimicrobial Audit is a sustainable model of audit, intervention and feedback designed to improve the quality of antimicrobial prescribing in targeted areas of clinical practice.

The methodology of the 5x5 Antimicrobial Audit involves ongoing data collection of small sample sizes, with trained auditors required to answer up to 5 questions in 5 or more patients per week. Two process measures for the audit are based on a prescribing indicator developed by the Scottish Antimicrobial Prescribing Group, and are defined as:

1. Documentation of an indication for antimicrobial therapy
2. Concordance with guidelines (or non-concordance with a documented reason).

Implementation of the 5x5 Antimicrobial Audit may contribute to meeting Standard 3.16 of the National Safety and Quality Health Service Standards, as evidence of monitoring antimicrobial usage and taking action to improve the effectiveness of an AMS program.