The Burrow
Apr 21, 2026
Antibiotics have transformed modern medicine, making once life-threatening infections treatable and improving overall healthcare quality worldwide. However, rising levels of antibiotic use and growing antibiotic resistance are creating serious public health issues, threatening the effectiveness of these essential treatments.
To find out more, the health insurance comparison experts at Compare the Market has indexed antibiotic use and other related statistics from the USA and Australia.
The index highlights the areas that are performing well and those most in need of improvement when it comes to antibiotic resistance within these two countries.
Antibiotic resistance is a pressing public health issue. Each year, millions of people are affected by infections that are harder to treat due to rising resistance, resulting in longer hospital stays, higher medical costs and increased mortality rates. As bacteria evolve to withstand commonly used treatments, the effectiveness of antibiotics is diminished.
To better understand how resistance and prescribing patterns vary regionally, the Antibiotic Use Index ranks US states and Australian states and territories using three key metrics: antibiotic prescriptions per 1,000 of the population, resistance rates in serious infections of Staphylococcus aureus, and healthcare-associated MRSA bloodstream infections.
The Antibiotic Use Index reveals significant variation in antibiotic resistance across US states, highlighting both strong performers and areas with room for improvement. West Virginia ranks records one of the lowest index scores of 0.03, reflecting relatively higher levels of antibiotic use, resistance, and associated bloodstream infections. This means West Virginia has higher relative antibiotic use and resistance indicators, making it harder to treat germs like MRSA, contributing to greater public health risks.
States like Kentucky (0.11) and Louisiana (0.14) also perform poorly, with low index scores, indicating higher antibiotic use and greater resistance. These states are more reliant on antibiotics, and their germs are harder to treat, posing a significant public health concern.
On the other hand, Idaho ranks as the best-performing state with a high index score of 0.87, meaning it uses fewer antibiotics, and its germs are easier to treat. Colorado (0.83) and Wisconsin (0.79) also show strong performance, with lower levels of resistance and more controlled antibiotic use. Washington and Utah (both with index scores of 0.77) also rank among the top performers.
Australia shows similar regional variation, with some states and territories demonstrating stronger control over antibiotic resistance than others.
Western Australia ranks as the best-performing region with a high index score of 0.88, suggesting lower reliance on antibiotics and better resistance management. A high score means fewer antibiotics are used, making it easier to treat germs like MRSA. This reflects strong infection control and lower antibiotic use, which helps maintain better public health outcomes.
On the other hand, the Northern Territory ranks lowest with an index score of 0.64, which is driven by higher MRSA resistance and infection rates, despite the territory having the lowest antibiotic prescription rate in Australia.
Other regions like New South Wales (0.73), and South Australia (0.70) perform somewhat better but still have measurable resistance. New South Wales had the second-highest antibiotic prescription rate per capita at 827 per 1,000, while South Australia was fourth highest with 764 per 1,000. New South Wales and South Australia had the third and fourth-highest rate of MRSA blood infections per 1,000 respectively.
The Antibiotic Use Index highlights the urgent need for strong healthcare policies, particularly in regions where antibiotic resistance is highest. Improving prescribing practices, strengthening infection prevention and investing in education around antibiotic use are essential steps to reduce pressure on healthcare systems.
Steven Spicer – Executive General Manager of Health, Life and Energy at Compare the Market, says: “The Pharmaceutical Benefit Scheme and private health insurance coverage for prescriptions not covered by the PBS typically helps make medication more accessible and affordable here in Australia.
This dataset includes antibiotic usage data, which was used to create an index ranking their use in the USA and Australian States/Territories. This includes 3 metrics, each normalised between 0 and 1, and an average was used to create the index, which is out of 1.
A higher overall index score indicates better performance (i.e., lower antibiotic use, lower resistance rates, and fewer healthcare-associated MRSA bloodstream infections). Conversely, a lower index score indicates poorer performance across these measures.
Metrics:
All data is correct to 2023.
Population data was taken from World Population Review.
Indexing rules:
For each metric, a lower raw figure (e.g fewer prescriptions, lower resistance percentage, fewer infections) receives a a higher normalised score. These normalised scores are then averaged to produce ta is better for all. Therefore, a higher overall index score indicates better performance (lower antibiotic use, lower resistance, and fewer MRSA infections).
Note: PBS/RPBS and surveillance sources do not capture all community antibiotic supply (private prescriptions, some pharmacist prescribing pilots, and over‑the‑counter sales); jurisdictions with substantial non-PBS supply or very small populations can therefore show distorted index values.
Index uses PBS/RPBS and surveillance data only; private and over-the-counter supply are not included.
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