# Using Implementation Science and Informatics to Develop and Pilot Test Antibiotic Stewardship Clinical Decision Support

> **NIH NIH K23** · WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY · 2024 · $126,225

## Abstract

Project Summary/Abstract
Dentists are responsible for approximately 10% of outpatient antibiotic prescriptions in the United States. Many
of these antibiotic prescriptions are unnecessary and place patients at risk of adverse drug events, including
allergic reactions and infections with drug resistant organisms. However, improving antibiotic prescribing
practices in dental settings is challenging. Dental clinics often lack the resources to design and implement
policies to evaluate dental antibiotic prescribing practices and design interventions to improve prescribing
practices.
My long-term goal is to oversee the development of electronic clinical decision support tools (CDST) to
facilitate optimal antibiotic prescribing among dentists. I envision creating, pilot testing, and disseminating
CDSTs that can be embedded within electronic health record systems, including electronic dental record
systems, to improve adherence to science-based practices while making the lives of clinicians easier.
This specific proposal aims to design and implement a novel web-based application “app” that can be
accessed by dentists on mobile phones or websites. Our first aim is to design the CDST based on focus group
feedback from dental students, residents, and faculty at the University of Illinois College of Dentistry (UIC-
COD). Our second aim is to pilot test the app using clinical vignettes and validated technology survey
questions. The third aim is to evaluate the effectiveness and implementation of our CDST within UIC-COD
using a dissemination and implementation research framework. We will propose to measure changes in
antibiotic knowledge and confidence in antibiotic decision making before and after implementation of the CDST
using paired surveys. We will also use surveys to measure provider satisfaction with the CDST. We will track
CDST usage (implementation metrics) using Google analytics. After completion of this project, we plan to test
our CDST in community dentists via the National Institute for Dental and Craniofacial Research Dental Practice
Based Research Network and apply for grant funding to embed this CDST into electronic dental record
systems.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10767299
- **Project number:** 5K23DE029514-04
- **Recipient organization:** WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY
- **Principal Investigator:** Michael Joseph Durkin
- **Activity code:** K23 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2024
- **Award amount:** $126,225
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2021-02-15 → 2026-01-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10767299

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10767299, Using Implementation Science and Informatics to Develop and Pilot Test Antibiotic Stewardship Clinical Decision Support (5K23DE029514-04). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-24 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10767299. Licensed CC0.

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