By using this site, you agree to the Privacy Policy and Terms of Use.
Accept
Health Works CollectiveHealth Works CollectiveHealth Works Collective
  • Health
    • Mental Health
    Health
    Healthcare organizations are operating on slimmer profit margins than ever. One report in August showed that they are even lower than the beginning of the…
    Show More
    Top News
    medicare part d benefits
    Everything that You Need to Know About Medicare Part D
    August 15, 2022
    Best Ways to Boost Your Immune System this Winter
    Best Ways to Boost Your Immune System this Winter
    November 15, 2022
    back pain issues
    Ways to Treat Constant Back Pain
    August 21, 2023
    Latest News
    How Probate Planning Shapes the Future of Your Estate and Family Care
    July 17, 2025
    Beyond Nutrition: Everyday Foods That Support Whole-Body Health
    June 15, 2025
    The Wide-Ranging Benefits of Magnesium Supplements
    June 11, 2025
    The Best Home Remedies for Migraines
    June 5, 2025
  • Policy and Law
    • Global Healthcare
    • Medical Ethics
    Policy and Law
    Get the latest updates about Insurance policies and Laws in the Healthcare industry for different geographical locations.
    Show More
    Top News
    More On Wellness Programs To Improve Health and Reduce Costs
    January 25, 2012
    Privatizing Social Security and Medicare: Who Can Defuse Political Dynamite?
    June 12, 2011
    Study: Risk of Death in Elderly Patients with Dementia Doubled with Some Antipsychotic Medications
    February 26, 2012
    Latest News
    How IT and Marketing Teams Can Collaborate to Protect Patient Trust
    July 17, 2025
    How Health Choices and Legal Actions Intersect After an Injury
    July 17, 2025
    How communities and healthcare providers can address slip and fall injuries with legal awareness
    July 17, 2025
    Let Your Lawyer Handle the Work Before You Pay Medical Costs
    July 6, 2025
  • Medical Innovations
  • News
  • Wellness
  • Tech
Search
© 2023 HealthWorks Collective. All Rights Reserved.
Reading: The Plague of Unnecessary Antibiotics
Share
Notification Show More
Font ResizerAa
Health Works CollectiveHealth Works Collective
Font ResizerAa
Search
Follow US
  • About
  • Contact
  • Privacy
© 2023 HealthWorks Collective. All Rights Reserved.
Health Works Collective > Policy & Law > Public Health > The Plague of Unnecessary Antibiotics
Public HealthSpecialties

The Plague of Unnecessary Antibiotics

Michael Kirsch
Michael Kirsch
Share
6 Min Read
SHARE

With regard to antibiotics, physicians and the public have each been enablers of the other. Patients want them and we doctors supply them.

With regard to antibiotics, physicians and the public have each been enablers of the other. Patients want them and we doctors supply them. There’s nothing evil about this arrangement. Antibiotics are one of medicine’s towering achievements and have saved millions of lives. Shouldn’t we prescribe them to patients who need them? Of course we should. But why do we prescribe them to patients who don’t?

Before you race to the comment section to accuse me of being a self-righteous preacher, realize that throughout this blog, I have confessed my own mistakes and shortcomings, and will continue to do so. (Yes, many commenters have enthusiastically assisted me in this effort.) So, when I throw a stone at the medical profession, I am also in the line of fire.

I have since the heady days of medical internship, been a conservative practitioner, preserving my soul even after completing training where medical overtreatment was worshiped. In medicine, less is so much more. I wish that more patients and more of us subscribed to the philosophy of medical parsimony.

More Read

Here Is What You Must Know About Opioid Treatment
The New York Times, Aspirin and Melanoma
Health Policy: Stunning Results from California
How to Be a Bridge Over Troubled Waters for Friends and Family
Why Are There Drug Shortages?

Why would a physician prescribe an antibiotic (ATB) that is not needed?

First, there are times when the medical situation is murky, and the physician may be unsure if an ATB is truly needed. If there is concern about this patient, then the doctor may understandably prescribe the ATB, just in case the illness is a bacterial infection. (ATBs are effective against bacterial infections, but are not effective against more common viral infections including common colds.) Doctors often must make recommendations and decisions based on incomplete information. Wouldn’t it be nice if we knew with 100% certainty if a sick patient needed surgery, as many medical malpractice attorneys believe?

However, I am not referring to prescribing ATBs when the clinical situation is unclear. I refer to situations where they are clearly not indicated, and should not have been prescribed.

Over the years, I have seen numerous cases of ‘diverticulitis’, ‘sinusitis’, ‘touches of pneumonias’, upper respiratory infections, coughs, colds and various sore throats all treated with ATBs. Many of these patients received a 2nd course of ATBs when the condition persisted or recurred. In many of them, these drugs were simply not needed. Don’t think that ATBs were mere placebos. Unlike true placebos, ATB have real medical risks and can cause harm.

Of course, it’s possible that my medical judgment is flawed and that these patients truly needed ATBs, and it was lucky these folks had sharper physicians who recognized this. However, ask any doctor – including yours – if the ATB trigger is pulled too quickly. If the doctor says no, then get a second opinion.

So, why does this happen?

  • Patients demand it, convinced that they need it. This belief is strengthened if prior physicians have provided them with ATB ‘Kool Aide’ for the same viral symptoms.
  • Patients who are told only to rest and drink fluids may not believe they received sufficient medical care. “He did nothing for me. Who needed this appointment? For this I took off work?”
  • It may take 15 minutes to convince a patient that ATB are not needed, and only 10 seconds to prescribe one. Additionally, some patients can’t be convinced by any argument.
  • Physicians want to keep their patients satisfied. This will become more relevant when patient satisfaction reporting will be tied to physician reimbursement. Won’t that be ironic if lower quality care that patients approve of will reward doctors?
  • Physicians may falsely believe that prescribing an ATB reduces their legal vulnerability, arguing that the ATB is evidence of active treatment against the condition. For some reason, physicians don’t fear being sued if an unnecessary ATB causes a medical complication or a serious side-effect.

Overutilization of ATBs costs money and exposes patients to unnecessary risks. I’m also philosophically hostile to any treatment or medical test that is not needed. Additionally, medical experts have warned us for a few decades that the tsunami of ATBs that are prescribed so casually is breeding out superbugs that resist our available ATBs. It is tragic when a patient is severely ill from a true bacterial infection, and the necessary ATBs won’t work because the germ overpowers it.

So, the next time you have the sniffles and you’re in your doctor’s office, make sure you demand the right treatment. And, if you leave without a prescription, don’t feel that the doctor did nothing for you. He may have done quite a lot for you. And, that’s nothing to sneeze at.

TAGGED:antibioticspharma
Share This Article
Facebook Copy Link Print
Share

Stay Connected

1.5kFollowersLike
4.5kFollowersFollow
2.8kFollowersPin
136kSubscribersSubscribe

Latest News

Grounded Healing: A Natural Ally for Sustainable Healthcare Systems
How IT and Marketing Teams Can Collaborate to Protect Patient Trust
Global Healthcare Policy & Law
July 17, 2025
paramedics in surgical gloves and masks
How Health Choices and Legal Actions Intersect After an Injury
Health care
July 16, 2025
a woman giving a key
How Probate Planning Shapes the Future of Your Estate and Family Care
Health
July 16, 2025
a woman with kinesio tapes on her back arm
How communities and healthcare providers can address slip and fall injuries with legal awareness
Health care
July 16, 2025

You Might also Like

FDA Has a Good Idea; Doctors Object

May 4, 2012

Seeing Red for Heart Health

February 3, 2013
Mental HealthSpecialties

9 Habits You Can Cultivate To Reduce Your Risk Of Dementia

September 20, 2019
Public Health

Is it True What They Say About Fructose?

March 15, 2012
Subscribe
Subscribe to our newsletter to get our newest articles instantly!
Follow US
© 2008-2025 HealthWorks Collective. All Rights Reserved.
  • About
  • Contact
  • Privacy
Welcome Back!

Sign in to your account

Username or Email Address
Password

Lost your password?