The Commonwealth Pharmacists Association

The Commonwealth Pharmacists Association (CPA) is a registered charity, working across the Commonwealth and other countries, to support pharmacists in strengthening healthcare systems through the safe and effective use of medicines; improving access to and quality of medicines and vaccines, the prevention of diseases and promotion of healthier lifestyles.

About the Prescribing Companion App

Welcome to the Prescribing Companion App! Led by the CPA the App hosts for the first time, a core repository of prescribing resources in both human and animal health, to drive Antimicrobial Stewardship (AMS). By increasing awareness of prescribing guidelines and improving access to good practice resources at the point of care, we aim to foster shared learning between countries across human and animal health and align to the global One Health approach.

Intended for use by human and animal healthcare professionals, the App is a reference resource for guidance on antimicrobial prescribing and broader AMS activities. It does not replace the advice of a healthcare professional. Each individual country (not the CPA) holds responsibility for reviewing and keeping the resources up-to-date, for their country section.

While the initial scope of the App is AMS, it can be further customized by individual country needs; such as guidelines and resources for different therapeutic areas. The App is a continuous work in progress, with ring-fenced funding until 2027. Each country is able to regularly update and add resources that meet their requirements, ensuring that it truly reflects local needs and usage.

ToolKits

Under each country interface are a number of toolkits which contain the following:

Infections and infectious disease Prescribing

This toolkit includes national standard antimicrobial treatment guidelines from countries in the initial project cohort. Countries interested in using the App can be supported to upload their guidelines.

Other common clinical conditions

A customizable section where countries can add standard treatment guidelines in other clinical areas such as hypertension, maternity etc

International AMS and Infection Prevention and Control (IPC)

A number of international core modules and good practice guidelines in human health are available for all 22 countries. These are embedded as links to third party websites including WHO and CDC. Some CPA programme tools and training resources are also found in this section.

COVID-19 Toolkit

International resources for COVID-19 management as well as links to country specific guidance hosted on Ministry of Health websites or relevant national authority.

Interventional Recording

Currently contains an audit form, developed by the SPARC programme, to identify the range of interventions made by health professionals as a result of using the App. Similar forms can be added to collect a vast range of data.

Animal Health

Due to a current global scarcity of animal health guidance at international and national levels, we have identified some core resources to support animal health practitioners. Resources include The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) - Action plan on Antimicrobial resistance (2021-2025) and an AMR hub to support veterinarians. Where available, national standard antimicrobial treatment guidelines for animals have been included.

This section is a work in progress and we welcome further resources.

Accessibility Statement

The App is freely available and has been designed to function offline once toolkits are downloaded.

Development & Funding

The App is part of the CPA’s SPARC programme, funded by the Fleming Fund, which delivered a suite of projects to support AMS in human and animal health, in up to 22 countries across Asia and Africa. It is developed using the Quris system from Tactuum.