Posted: November 4th, 2022

When you use outside sources, be sure to include those citations in your post (the actual citation does not count towards the word count).

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Eye on Ethics: Resistance Police?
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Resistance Police
In the United States and many other countries, most antimicrobial drugs are self-administered by patients at home. Unfortunately, many patients stop taking antimicrobials once their symptoms dissipate and they feel better. If a 10-day course of treatment is prescribed, many patients only take the drug for 5 or 6 days, unaware of the negative consequences of not completing the full course of treatment. A shorter course of treatment not only fails to kill the target organisms to expected levels, it also selects for drug-resistant variants within the target population and within the patient’s microbiota.
Patients’ nonadherence especially amplifies drug resistance when the recommended course of treatment is long. Treatment for tuberculosis (TB) is a case in point, with the recommended treatment lasting from 6 months to a year. The CDC estimates that about one-third of the world’s population is infected with TB, most living in underdeveloped or underserved regions where antimicrobial drugs are available over the counter. In such countries, there may be even lower rates of adherence than in developed areas. Nonadherence leads to antibiotic resistance and more difficulty in controlling pathogens. As a direct result, the emergence of multidrug-resistant and extensively drug-resistant strains of TB is becoming a huge problem.
Overprescription of antimicrobials also contributes to antibiotic resistance. Patients often demand antibiotics for diseases that do not require them, like viral colds and ear infections. Pharmaceutical companies aggressively market drugs to physicians and clinics, making it easy for them to give free samples to patients, and some pharmacies even offer certain antibiotics free to low-income patients with a prescription.
In recent years, various initiatives have aimed to educate parents and clinicians about the judicious use of antibiotics. However, a recent study showed that, between 2000 and 2013, the parental expectation for antimicrobial prescriptions for children actually increased (Figure 14.8Links to an external site.).
One possible solution is a regimen called directly observed therapy (DOT), which involves the supervised administration of medications to patients. Patients are either required to visit a health-care facility to receive their medications, or health-care providers must administer medication in patients’ homes or another designated location. DOT has been implemented in many cases for the treatment of TB and has been shown to be effective; indeed, DOT is an integral part of WHO’s global strategy for eradicating TB.9Links to an external site.,10Links to an external site. But is this a practical strategy for all antibiotics? Would patients taking penicillin, for example, be more or less likely to adhere to the full course of treatment if they had to travel to a health-care facility for each dose? And who would pay for the increased cost associated with DOT? When it comes to overprescription, should someone be policing physicians or drug companies to enforce best practices? What group should assume this responsibility, and what penalties would be effective in discouraging overprescription?
This topic may be one of the most important ideas to consider for future allied health care professionals and so, while we’ve discussed similar ideas before, we are going to again focus our attention on the responsibilities for overprescription. In a substantial post (minimum 250 words) address the concerns raised in this Eye on Ethics focus. When you use outside sources, be sure to include those citations in your post (the actual citation does not count towards the word count). Respond to at least one classmate’s post by responding to how they have addressed the concerns raised.

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