“My doctor gives me Bactrim to take whenever
I get another infection, and I need more.”
Antibiotic requests are good news to some
hotel doctors who know that, provided they go along, the guest will happily
hand over the fee. An easy visit.
When I see these patients and do my best and
don’t prescribe an antibiotic if they don’t need one (usually the case), most
are grateful, but a minority aren’t. It’s not a small minority, and I hate
driving off to what might be an unpleasant encounter.
Hearing this request I go into “no-housecall”
mode, perhaps mentioning that the illness is self-limited and doesn’t require
medical attention or directing the guest to an urgent-care clinic. I don’t want
to see them.
But I gave this lady her Bactrim.
There is a single exception to the rule that
healthy patients are wrong when they decide that they need an antibiotic: the
common, uncomplicated urinary tract infection. In fact, it’s OK to prescribe
over the phone. Scientific studies show that this works as well as an office
visit.
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