Table 2.

Decisional Factor Categories and the 31 Decisional Factors That Influence Antibiotic Prescribing

Type of Infection	Patient-Specific Factors	Contextual Factors	Provider-Specific Factors	Drug-Specific Factors
Healthcare/hospital-acquired versus community-acquired	Age and comorbidities	Local rates of antibiotic resistant bacteria	Knowledge about the microbiology of the infection type	Spectrum of activity
Pathogens commonly involved in the infection type	Prior healthcare exposure	Antibiotic prescribing guidelines, both local and national	Preference for intravenous versus oral antibiotics	Bioavailability
Microbiology culture results from currently infected body site	Prior antibiotic exposure	Location and timing of patient-provider encounter	Clinical instinct informed by bedside assessment	Cost
Complicated vs. uncomplicated infection	Risk for an antibiotic-resistant infection, including prior microbiologic results	Ease of ordering the antibiotic, drug formulary, and prior approval processes	Desire to practice evidence-based clinical medicine	Ease of dosing
Depth/extent of infection	Renal function	Social norms around antibiotic use	Concern about antibiotic-related adverse outcomes in the patient	Frequency of antibiotic dosing
Severity of illness, including the presence of sepsis	Risk for developing Clostridioides difficile	Decisional support system	Concern about the societal problem of antibiotic resistance	…
Radiologic findings	Response to current antibiotic therapy	…	…	…