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unfortunately doctors are damned if they do, and damned if they don't.
however, you are paid to do the best for your patients, and if that means taking a verbal beating for not prescribing a drug that is not clinically indicated, then im sure you are big enough to take it.
irresponsible prescribing is partly to blame for patient expectations; its not just about patient ignorance.
unfortunately doctors are damned if they do, and damned if they don't.
however, you are paid to do the best for your patients, and if that means taking a verbal beating for not prescribing a drug that is not clinically indicated, then im sure you are big enough to take it.
irresponsible prescribing is partly to blame for patient expectations; its not just about patient ignorance.
True fact.
Until you factor in that satisfaction scores can now make or break you.
It's literally the number one thing hospitals care about - even more than core measures.
And any doc making anyone unhappy can get the boot now just for that.
Never mind losing the patient who didn't get his way (if you're talking private practice).
It might be productive for doctors to post in their waiting rooms informational signs or pamphlets explaining that antibiotics will never cure a viral infection, that overuse of antibiotics is a serious public health problem, and that most conditions will spontaneously resolve in a brief period. For these reasons the doctor will not be prescribing antibiotics in the absence of evidence that a bacterial infection is present.
It's surprising, given how much coverage this issue has received in recent years, that this is still a problem, but education is a crucial element of the solution.
I had a "cold" last month and I had people telling me to go to the doctor and even offering me antibiotics they had on hand. I refused because I didn't consider my symptoms to be acute and they went away on their own. As a past severe bronchitis patient, I know when to see a doctor but I usually wait till the 2nd week of a "cold" to seek medical attention since I don't have health care insurance and little money to pay a doctor.
My advice to the medical community for those that seek treatments as soon as they exhibit symptoms..."I will give you this prescription for an antibiotic but I want you to wait 7 days to start taking it. If your symptoms go away within those 7 days...great, but if not, you'll have the meds you say you need."
OP, part of the problem is that there are still docs that prescribe like this. My husband's primary care physician will prescribe almost anything over the phone, without an office visit, for a longstanding patient. They get Z-packs, codeine cough syrup, allergy meds, muscle relaxants etc with only a phone call from my mother in law.
And then, of course, there are people who are so blindingly anti science, anti intellectualism that you can't even explain the difference between bacteria and viruses. To them, "antibiotic" just means "pill I demand when I feel sick." Same folks I bang my head against the wall for when trying to explain why you must pressure can green beans.
I just buy my antibiotics online...it costs less for a bottle of 100 amoxicillin than my copay and I can guess when I need them about as well as my doctor can.
I just buy my antibiotics online...it costs less for a bottle of 100 amoxicillin than my copay and I can guess when I need them about as well as my doctor can.
Really???
Not all antibiotics work for all things. You are really not doing yourself any favors, in my non-medical opinion.
You would love me as a patient, the last time I was sick I was sick for almost 3 months because what I thought was a simple cold turned into infection in both ears, full blown sinus infection, upper respiratory infection and just for fun after I took a few days of the zpac I got a urinary tract infection and I have Primary Biliary Cirrhosis. Yet I still do NOT go to the Doctor until I pretty much have to crawl into the office.
I just buy my antibiotics online...it costs less for a bottle of 100 amoxicillin than my copay and I can guess when I need them about as well as my doctor can.
How do you legally purchase antibiotics online without a prescription?
How do you legally purchase antibiotics online without a prescription?
Ebay
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