Investigating the ways in which health information technology can promote antimicrobial stewardship: a conceptual overview.

Antimicrobial resistance is now recognised as a threat to health worldwide. Antimicrobial stewardship aims to promote the responsible use of antibiotics and is high on international and national policy agendas. Health information technology has the potential to support antimicrobial stewardship in a number of ways, but this field is still poorly characterised and understood. Building on a recent systematic review and expert roundtable discussions, we take a lifecycle perspective of antibiotic use in hospitals and identify potential targets for health information technology-based interventions to support antimicrobial stewardship. We aim for this work to help chart a future research agenda in this critically important area.