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This is not one of the more amazing articles, rather one more in the long line of those reporting on the overuse of anti-biotics: Antibiotics Too Often Prescribed for Sinus Woes:
I guess I am just out of touch but why do physicians think it is ok to practice bad medicine because people will whine if they try to practice sensible medicine? These stories often tell of doctors that can’t say no to patients even if it means going against what is the best medical advice. Is it any wonder that helath costs continue to escalate, now totaling 16% of GDP, with such practices accepted? How hard is it to say, yeah great you want x drug, that is not medically advisable and is only available by prescription because it is not advisable for people to decide they need it but rather physicians are suppose to make that decision.
I understand this reality. I just find it very sad that that professionals sacrifice the future to today’s ignorance and short sightedness. I wish physicians would not reward those demanding they get what they want today since they are simultaneously condemning others to suffer the consequences of such decisions.
But I also want us to stop spending our grandchildren’s money today. Still the politicians act just like the physicians choosing to give the voters what they want today and let someone else deal with the consequences later. Current USA federal deficit: $8,841,291,672,873 (see live debt clock), $29,349 for every citizen of the USA. It seems pretty obvious the same willingness to sacrifice the future for an easier life today is at the root of the actions by both doctors and politicians. Thankfully some are trying to counter this behavior, by both parties, to varying success.
Related: CDC Urges Increased Effort to Reduce Drug-Resistant Infections - Antibiotics related posts - Antibiotic resistance: How do antibiotics kill bacteria?
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May 24th, 2007 at 3:45 pm
[...] As we have discussed previously, antibiotic resistance is a huge problem today and especially looming in the future. Perhaps we will find new fantanstic cures but the failure to take sensible action puts us at great risk [...]
June 3rd, 2007 at 12:06 pm
The risks are well known, given the extreme mobility in the world today, for TB, and other communicable diseases, becoming more troublesome, costly and deadly - often due to improper antibiotic use. But we continue to avoid giving this risk near the level of attention it seems to deserve…
November 9th, 2007 at 9:08 am
“This vaccine can be produced in giant vats of living cells. Such a production method means it can be scaled up much faster than egg-based vaccines, making it more useful in a pandemic. Several versions have been tested successfully in people…”
January 21st, 2008 at 10:08 am
This is a serious problem. And it is sad to see yet another example of well know scientific facts being ignored and by so doing threatening the healthy lives of others. i just finished a great book on bacteria and human health - Good Germs, Bad Germs…
January 27th, 2008 at 7:16 pm
“I can see no justification for honorary authorships. Why can’t people just be honest. Is that really too high an expectation for scientists?”
April 10th, 2008 at 8:40 am
I would say doctors don’t give patients anti-biotics for viral infections (but actually they do). They shouldn’t. When doctors behave irresponsibly…
July 6th, 2008 at 6:37 pm
Along with the perception (which I share) that we look to pills to fix problems too often (and the belief that drugs have risks and should not be overused) this is not good news…
March 28th, 2009 at 3:05 pm
[...] patients are driven more by marketing than medicine. Much worse though, doctors seem to bend to these patients marketing driven desires. Plus the corrupting influence of money on research and marketing to doctors seems likely a [...]
April 23rd, 2009 at 12:26 am
[...] at the request of patients. These days, it seems doctors and patients alike are too quick too reach for drugs to cure any [...]