Viruses and Bacteria are Different!
Thanks Doctor XYZ who lives in Hagerstown! Because of your worthy cause, bacteria just got a raise and they are soon to take over the World. Please don’t say I didn’t warn you. Let me straighten some things out. More than one prescription (subscription in Hagerstonian dialect, but that is a story for a different day) was brought in today for BOTH, let me repeat, BOTH an antibiotic and Tamiflu. Tamiflu is for treatment or prevention of the flu. The causative agent of the flu is a virus. Antibiotics treat a bacterial infection. Bacterial infestations do not cause the flu. So, why would these Docs prescribe both? I don’t know for sure, but I have a guess. The poor patient is very, very ill with flu symptoms and Doc is pretty sure that they have the flu. But, just in case it may not be the flu, Doc is going to give away antibiotics like they are M&M’s. This way, the patient is getting more bang for their very expensive Doctor visit and they don’t whine incessantly and bother the Doctor. AND, the patient is ignorantly happy and they return for their next visit to the same Doc. Problem with this theory? Of course there is a problem. But like so many people, Doc seems to only be concerned about the here and now and how much mula is pouring into his pockets. Sure, I suppose a person COULD have the flu with a secondary bacterial infection. I would imagine this rare and would assume that by the time the bacteria caused an infection, the time frame for tamiflu to be functional would have passed anyway. Why prescribe both?
So the pharmacist (Farmist in Hagerstonian, again different story, different day) gets these prescriptions and do we fill it? Why yes, yes we do. We fill it because the ramifications of calling the Doctor to argue their intellect are just too severe. Besides, at the end of the day, Doc gets what Doc wants.
So to you Doctors and your patients. I hope you are happy. The MRSA hype may have settled down in the news, but resistant bacteria are lurking. You have been warned.
Oh and one more thing:
One Response to “Viruses and Bacteria are Different!”
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February 9th, 2008 at 2:03 pm
Unfortunately the mass subscribing (how’s that for Hagerstownian dialect?) of antibiotics for non-bacterial infections is overwhelming. It’s amazing we don’t all have MRSA, beta-lactamase producing gram negative superinfections, or VRE! But a more happy note – YAY for the Obama plug. This man will be our next president and he will unite the country like no one before him.