TABLE 3.

Characteristics of sources used for data acquisition for antibiogram (21–23)

Attribute or characteristic	Data source:
	AST instrument	LIS	EHR/CDSS
Data extraction
Ease of data extraction	Standard data export features with predefined formats, generally simple	Format created by vendor; may need specific module or procedure (simple or difficult depending on the system)	Format created by vendor; may need additional programming or module installation (simple or difficult depending on the system)
Availability of patient demographics, patient locations, and specimen source data	Possibly, depending on the AST system and completeness of manual data entry or bidirectional LIS interface	Generally, yes	Yes
Availability of suppressed antimicrobial resultsa	Yes	Depends on the configuration. Results from suppressed antimicrobials often missing.	Generally, no
Availability of quantitative MIC data	Generally, yes	Generally, yes, if desired.	Generally, yes, if desired
Availability of results from offline AST (e.g., gradient diffusion and disk diffusion)	No, unless manually entered	Yes	Yes
Capability of removing duplicate AST results	No	Yes	Possibly
Data analysis
Customizability	Low	Moderate to high	Moderate to high
Stratification of results by patient details	Possibly, depending on the AST system and completeness of manual data entry or bidirectional LIS interface	Yes	Yes
Ability to reanalyze retrospective data using updated breakpoints	No	Possibly, if there are separate fields for MIC or zone value and interpretation.	Possibly, if there are separate fields for MIC or zone value and interpretation.
Frequency of data analysis, capability of automation	Generated interactively by the user	Can often be run interactively by the user or automated depending on the system	Can often be run interactively by the user or automated depending on the system
Additional support for setup and use
Additional cost	None, utilizing standard AST system features	Standard features within some systems, but needs creation and customization by others	Standard features within some systems, but needs creation and customization by others
Dependency on local informatics resources	No	Yes	Yes
Dependence on vendor-defined reports	Yes	Depends on the system capabilities, including predefined and customizable reports.	Depends on the system capabilities, including predefined and customizable reports.

^aApplies to AST results available/unavailable based on cascade or selective reporting. AST, antimicrobial susceptibility test; LIS, laboratory information system; EHR, electronic healthcare record; CDSS, clinical decision support system.