Intravenous (IV) Outpatient parenteral antimicrobial therapy (OPAT) good practice prescribing guide

Intravenous antibiotics OPAT good practice prescribing guide for adults age 18 and over

This resource has been created by the Scottish Antimicrobial Prescribing Group (SAPG) Outpatient Parenteral Antimicrobial Therapy (OPAT) subgroup and the Association of Scottish Antimicrobial Pharmacists (ASAP) to support intravenous antibiotics prescribing in an OPAT setting in NHS Scotland.

For ease of reference all the good practice prescribing guides have the same layout:

• Indication and dose    
• Dose adjustments
• Monitoring     

Information on prescribing in an OPAT setting is available for the following antibiotics. More drugs will be available soon.

Amikacin (management of Gram-negative infections)
Amikacin (management of Mycobacterial infections)
Ceftazidime
Ceftriaxone
Dalbavancin
Daptomycin
Ertapenem
Meropenem
Piperacillin/tazobactam (30 minute IV infusions)
Piperacillin/tazobactam (24 hour continuous)
Teicoplanin (three times weekly dosing)
Teicoplanin (daily dosing)

The drug summaries do not provide specific treatment guidelines. Individual patient treatment should take into account the core principles of antimicrobial stewardship. This includes selection of the appropriate antimicrobial for the shortest duration with oral therapy being preferred, whenever possible.

For oral antibiotics, see OPAT good practice prescribing guides for complex oral antibiotics 

Refer to Outpatient parenteral antimicrobial therapy for more information on SAPG OPAT guidance.

Content updated: July 2026