A patient-centred approach to preserving antimicrobial effectiveness

Antimicrobial resistance (AMR), accelerated by the overuse, underuse and misuse of antimicrobials, is a growing threat to public health. This communiqué reports the outcomes of an August 2024 stakeholder roundtable convened by CSIRO and Research Australia, which brought together more than 20 representatives from research, professional associations, industry and consumer groups to build consensus on priorities for optimal antimicrobial prescribing in primary and community care. It proposes a patient-centred model that spans early intervention, diagnosis, shared decision-making, prescribing and use, supported by research and surveillance. Priority actions are grouped under prevention (infection prevention, vaccination, public and prescriber education), packaging (evidence-aligned pack sizes and pharmacist customisation), prescribing (patient-centred decisions, delayed prescribing and pharmacy roles) and policy (Medicare-funded point-of-care diagnostics, improved national surveillance and data linkage, and nationally consistent therapeutic guidelines).