{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,10,6]],"date-time":"2026-10-06T21:10:28Z","timestamp":1791321028700,"version":"4.3.1"},"reference-count":43,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"12","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2025,12,18]],"date-time":"2025-12-18T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1766016000000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Antibiotics"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Background: Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is accelerating globally, driven by widespread inappropriate antibiotic use and diagnostic uncertainty in primary care. Pharmcist-led point-of-care testing (POCTs) has emerged as a promising model to optimize antibiotic prescribing, improve triage, and strengthen antimicrobial stewardship (AMS). Methods: This scoping review synthesizes current evidence, regulatory models, and implementation data on pharmacist-led diagnostics and antibiotic management across multiple countries. Results: Despite strong policy interest, clinical trial evidence remains limited. Existing studies\u2014primarily pilots, feasibility work, and service evaluations\u2014suggest that POCTs combined with structured pathways reduces inappropriate antibiotic use. Conclusions: Regulatory fragmentation, workforce limitations, and insufficient monitoring systems constrain widespread implementation. Larger, well-designed trials are needed to establish long-term safety, clinical outcomes, and AMS impact.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/antibiotics14121286","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2025,12,18]],"date-time":"2025-12-18T13:45:07Z","timestamp":1766065507000},"page":"1286","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":4,"title":["Pharmacist-Led Diagnostics: A New Frontier in Antimicrobial Stewardship"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"14","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0009-0002-0605-3317","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Greta","family":"Kaspute","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"State Research Institute Centre for Innovative Medicine, Santariskiu St. 5, LT-08410 Vilnius, Lithuania"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-2064-6792","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Tatjana","family":"Ivaskiene","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"State Research Institute Centre for Innovative Medicine, Santariskiu St. 5, LT-08410 Vilnius, Lithuania"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2025,12,18]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"629","DOI":"10.1016\/S0140-6736(21)02724-0","article-title":"Global burden of bacterial antimicrobial resistance in 2019: A systematic analysis","volume":"399","author":"Murray","year":"2022","journal-title":"Lancet"},{"key":"ref_2","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Kaspute, G., Zebrauskas, A., Streckyte, A., Ivaskiene, T., and Prentice, U. 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