Question

The overuse of antibiotics and CT scanning are not only unnecessary and wasteful, but it may create potential harm for patients. According to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, of the estimated 154 million prescriptions for antibiotics written in doctor’s offices and emergency departments each year, 30% are unnecessary (CDC, 2016). CDC researchers found that most of these unnecessary antibiotics prescribed are for common colds, viral sore throats, bronchitis, and sinus and ear infections that do not respond to antibiotics. Researchers have estimated the rate of inappropriate antibiotic use in adults and children by age and diagnosis. CDC Director Tom Frieden stated, “Antibiotics are lifesaving drugs, and if we continue down the road of inappropriate use we’ll lose the most powerful tool we have to fight life-threatening infections” (CDC, 2016). According to the Department of Veterans Affairs health care facilities, studies found Medicare recipients were more than twice as likely to receive potentially inappropriate imaging for headaches as those who reported the same symptoms (Joy, 2016). The National Center for Biotechnology Information, stated that one-third of CT scans are medically unnecessary exposing millions of patients to high doses of radiation (NCBI, 2008). The radiation exposure from three or four CT scans is roughly equivalent to that experienced by atomic bomb survivors in Hiroshima, Japan (Schwartz, 2008). CT scanner radiation dose should be reduced as much as possible and alternative diagnostic strategies should be used whenever possible. Excess imaging is an aspect of over testing, over screening, over diagnosis, and over treatment that adds billions of dollars of wasted costs annually.

DO YOU AGREE OR DISAGREE WITH THE MESSAGE ABOVE? WHY?

Answer 1

ANSWER :

Definitely, I agree with this message.

Nowadays people depend antibiotics for any types of infections. Because people think antibiotics are a magical cure - when they are feeling bad. Antibiotics are one of the great advances in medicine but overprescribing them has led to resistant bacteria.Doctors prescribe antibiotics for many reasons. Sometimes they prescribe them when they are not sure if an illness is caused by bacteria or a virus or are waiting for test results. Taking antibiotics for colds and other viral illness does not work and it can create bacteria that are harder to kill. Taking antibiotics for too often or for the wrong reasons can change bacteria so much that antibiotics don't work against them. This is called bacterial resistance or antibiotics resistance. According to the centres for Disease control and prevention, it is one of the world 's most pressing public health problems. Also, according to them up to one-third to one half of antibiotics are in human is unnecessary or inappropriate. The overuse of antibiotics continued to have severe health consequences around the world especially in children. Morever, antibiotics help teach good bacteria to go bad. Presently, it is possible to buy antibiotics over the Internet. This is only adding to overuse and misuse of antibiotics and is becoming a key factor contributing to antibiotics resistance. Doctors and hospitals should play a vital role in ensuring proper use of antibiotics and in minimizing the development of antibiotics resistance. We can take basic treatments such as rest, fluids and in some cases over the counter products such as decongestant and pain relievers instead of over use of antibiotics

In hospitals doctors sometimes order CT's before they have fully evaluated a patient. Because doctors in general have come to rely heavily on those tests. The reason is many doctors today have a lower tolerance for ambiguity them ever before and have learned to trust images to give them definitive answers, even when other methods, including a risk free physical exam, can provide the information needed.