The Greek SPICE mission, led by Prof. Emmanuel Roilides and Ass. Prof. Elias Ioisifidis, was drive-AMS’s response to requests for support from two hospitals: Agios Pavlos General Hospital in Thessaloniki and Serres General Hospital in Serres. At Agios Pavlos, the Greek drive-AMS team initiated preparatory communication followed by a site visit on March 12, 2025. The meeting brought together five internists from Internal Medicine and two urologists from Surgical Departments. Discussions centered on interpreting Global Point Prevalence Survey (G-PPS) data and applying best practices and quality indicators for antimicrobial stewardship.
The collaboration yielded two compelling AMS success stories:
- Avoiding prophylactic antibiotics for bladder catheterization, an initiative championed by Internal Medicine.
- Avoiding prophylactic antibiotics for flexible cystoscopy, a practice improved by Urology through the IMAGINE project.
These actions reflect a growing awareness of the gaps between clinical practice guidelines and real-world prescribing behaviors, especially in urology. The SPICE team used these examples as a springboard to explore local barriers and facilitators to optimal AMS practices.
Despite common challenges like understaffing, hospital staff displayed high motivation to engage with the drive-AMS approach. Encouraged by their initial successes, the team introduced two new quality indicators tailored to their prescribing challenges. They also expressed interest in revisiting methodologies for identifying behavioral barriers. Follow-up session is already scheduled, focusing on adapting AMS activities to the local context and deepen staff engagement. The SPICE experts have already made preparatory communications for a similar local visit in response to the request of Serres General Hospital.