Veterinary group develops practice-level action plans around responsible prescribing, infection prevention and client education.
CVS Veterinary Group has maintained low use of Highest Priority Critically Important Antimicrobials (HPCIAs) across its companion animal practices as it strengthens its approach to antimicrobial stewardship.
Latest figures show that HPCIA prescriptions represented 1.5% of companion animal consultations, remaining below CVS' established benchmark of 2%.
Rather than setting a target to drive prescribing below a specific level, CVS' focus is on supporting vets to ensure that antimicrobial prescribing is necessary, appropriate and informed by the individual patient's clinical needs. The group will maintain its benchmark of less than 2% during 2026-27.
The results form part of a wider antimicrobial stewardship programme which has been developing across CVS since 2021 and focuses on three areas: generating and sharing evidence to support responsible prescribing and infection prevention; embedding effective infection prevention and control; and supporting client education and communication around antimicrobial stewardship.
Action plans have now been developed across CVS' divisions, covering antimicrobial as well as anti-parasitic prescribing. Early work includes new risk assessment tools and giving clinical teams greater visibility of their prescribing behaviours so they can identify opportunities for improvement.
A key component is CVS' Prescribing with Purpose clinical improvement programme, launched in January 2026. It enables practices to select an aspect of prescribing relevant to their own team and use the Model for Improvement to introduce and evaluate change in a structured way. Participating teams receive videos, clinical guidance, examples and coaching, combined with opportunities to learn from colleagues and share approaches across practices.
"Responsible antimicrobial use isn't simply about prescribing fewer antibiotics. It is about making the right prescribing decision for every patient and supporting our clinicians with the evidence, information and tools to do that confidently.
"Maintaining our use of HPCIAs below our 2% benchmark is encouraging, particularly given the supply challenges experienced during the year. But antimicrobial stewardship requires continuous improvement rather than focusing on a single number.
"Our approach is therefore to give practice teams visibility of their prescribing, support them to reflect on their own behaviours and use quality improvement methods to identify changes appropriate for their patients and practice. By combining this with infection prevention and client education, we can take a much broader approach to responsible antimicrobial use."
Alongside its practice-based improvement work, CVS is also supporting academic research designed to increase understanding of responsible antimicrobial prescribing. This includes a PhD examining how to promote responsible prescribing habits for protected antimicrobials in equine and small animal practice. The research is intended to contribute to understanding how prescribing behaviours can be influenced and improved, including the role of culture and sensitivity testing in informing clinical decisions.
Antimicrobial stewardship forms a central part of CVS' wider One Health programme, which seeks to protect animal health while considering the potential impact of veterinary medicines on human health and the environment. The group measures antibiotic prescribing as the proportion of prescriptions relative to total consultations, helping practices distinguish changes in prescribing from fluctuations caused simply by different consultation volumes. During 2026-27, CVS will focus on embedding its antimicrobial stewardship action plans across the organisation and beginning to evaluate their impact on prescribing behaviours.
The work is detailed in CVS Veterinary Group’s new Sustainability Report.