Challenges to nurse prescribers of a no-antibiotic prescribing strategy for managing self-limiting respiratory tract infections.

Aims: To report a qualitative study of the experiences of nurse prescribers in managing patients with self-limiting respiratory tract infections.

Background: Patients frequently attend primary care with respiratory tract infections. Although a no-prescribing strategy is recommended for these consultations, general practitioners frequently prescribe antibiotics, citing non-clinical reasons such as patient pressure.

Managing self-limiting respiratory tract infections: a qualitative study of the usefulness of the delayed prescribing strategy.

Background: Despite respiratory tract infections usually being viral and self-limiting, most primary care consultations still result in an antibiotic prescription. The National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) introduced the 'delayed prescribing' (DP) strategy. It remains unknown how useful UK clinicians find this approach.