Table 2. Understanding how Lao doctors used the first comprehensive antimicrobial prescribing guidelines.

Themes (number of participants/number of quotations)	Quotations (participant ID)
When did you access Lao antimicrobial prescribing guidelines?
Searching for dose and duration of antibiotic treatment (15/16)	“ I occasionally open the app because I always see patients and use the medicines often. I’ll open it for special cases, like patients with kidney failure where we would need to adjust medicine dose. Therefore, we have to check on the appropriate dose for the level of kidney issue so that it doesn’t affect the kidney” (Participant 6, senior, medical ward, urban). “ Most of the time, it’s when the patient has kidney issues and I’d like to provide the correct dose for kidney. Doses in general, I don’t really refer to it [guidelines], because I use [medicines] often and I can remember. But I need to check the dose for patients with kidney and liver disease” (Participant 2, junior, paediatric ward, urban). “ I look at what antibiotics to give, alternative medicine but I mostly check doses and duration of treatment” (Participant 15, junior, intensive care unit, rural).
Facing uncommon situation (5/5)	“ I mostly use the guidelines when I encounter a problem in treating a patient. For instance, we find low white blood cell on day 3, 4 or 5 of dengue fever; but on day 6, the level of white blood cells turns so high. Sometimes we are not sure about this strange situation whether patient has sepsis or not” (Participant 13, senior, medical ward, rural). “ I already remember most local infections… Let’s say, I use it [guidelines] when I encounter issues” (Participant 11, senior, paediatric ward, rural).
Searching for choice of antibiotic therapy (4/4)	“ Alternative medicine. For instance, if the hospital runs out of a medicine, then an alternative medicine can be given. The district hospital would call to consult us about the medicine based on the condition of the patient. If the medicine is not available, we’ll recommend them to give an alternative medicine based on the app” (Participant 9, junior, medical ward, rural).
Why did not you access Lao prescribing guidelines often?
Facing the same diseases and already remember the recommendations (9/9)	“ I mostly do not open the book [guidelines] for the disease which I remember, for example sepsis, I already remember. As we know for baby aged less than 2–3 weeks, we use ampi [ampicillin], genta [gentamicin]. The dose is 50–100, let say we decided to use 50 …” (Participant 14, senior, paediatric ward, rural). “As I said, I opened the pocketbook once or twice. It says to use ceftri-azithro [ceftriaxone – azithromycin] and I then remember it. When there’s a case of pneumonia again, I will use the same medicines in the same dose, like this over and over again” (Participant 9, junior, medical ward, rural).
Prescribing based on habit (1/1)	“ Well, in our ward, we just follow what we have been doing in terms of giving medicines” (Participant 10, junior, surgical ward, rural).
Not sure how to use it (1/1)	“ I have to admit that I have never opened the pocketbook version of the guidelines, I have occasionally used the mobile phone application version …. But I do not understand if I should type the name of the antibiotic agent and then information comes up, or I have to go to each organ system [options to be selected in the application] and then I could find the information of the medicine” (Participant 3, junior, paediatric ward, urban).