Australian healthcare data reveals that 47% of perioperative antibiotic prescriptions deviate from established clinical guidelines, representing a significant departure from evidence-based prophylaxis protocols. This finding encompasses both timing errors and inappropriate agent selection during the surgical care continuum. The medical community has long recognized surgical site infections as a primary driver of antibiotic prophylaxis, yet these compliance gaps suggest systematic implementation failures across healthcare institutions. This level of inappropriate prescribing creates a dual burden: it potentially compromises patient safety through suboptimal infection prevention while simultaneously accelerating antimicrobial resistance development. The finding aligns with broader international trends showing variable adherence to perioperative antibiotic guidelines, though the 47% rate represents a particularly concerning threshold. For health-conscious adults facing elective procedures, this data underscores the importance of discussing antibiotic protocols with surgical teams. The resistance implications extend beyond individual procedures, as inappropriate perioperative prescribing contributes to the broader selective pressure driving resistant organism emergence. This appears to be a confirmatory study highlighting persistent implementation challenges rather than revealing novel resistance mechanisms, though the scale of inappropriate prescribing warrants systematic intervention strategies.