Listen to this page using ReadSpeaker Doctors, Patients Rely on Antibiotics

June 27, 2014 — While both health care professionals and the public seem to be aware of the problem of antibiotic resistance, a new survey shows that when it comes to your personal health, it may be a different story.

According to a new WebMD/Medscape survey, some 95% of health care professionals say they sometimes prescribe antibiotics to patients even when they aren’t sure they’re needed.

More than half of health care professionals (53%) say they’re “certain enough” to prescribe them, and only 12% do it most of the time. Others who prescribe them say they aren’t sure whether a patient’s illness is viral or bacterial, and the lab work to determine that may take too long. Eleven percent say they believe an antibiotic won’t hurt and could help.

Those most likely to prescribe antibiotics were emergency doctors (24.4%), followed by family medicine doctors (23.6%), although the percentages did not vary widely among the specialities included:  internal medicine, pediatrics, and women’s health….

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