CDC panel shares solutions to combat antibiotic resistance

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimates that 2 million U.S. illnesses and 23,000 deaths each year are caused by antibiotic-resistant infections, and these result in an estimated $20 billion in excess health care costs. Three CDC experts spoke to physicians at the 2015 AMA Interim Meeting about this global health crisis and multifaceted solutions to address it.  Education and communication can curb antibiotic overuse in outpatient settings A major factor in the growing problem of antibiotic-resistant infections is overuse of antibiotics. Trained as a pediatric-emergency medicine physician, Katherine Fleming-Dutra, MD, said she understands the importance of curbing antibiotic overuse in the outpatient setting. She’s now a medical epidemiologist for the National Center for Immunizations and Respiratory Diseases at the CDC.  In 2011, “providers prescribed 842 antibiotic courses per 1,000 population in outpatient settings,” Dr. Fleming-Dutra said, noting that researchers estimate that roughly 80 percent of antibiotic use in the United States occurs in outpatient facilities.  “To put that into context, that’s more than four antibiotic courses for every five people in the U.S., which totals to more than 263 million antibiotic courses per year.”  Dr. Fleming-Dutra said physicians commonly cite concerns about patient dissatisfaction as a major reason they overprescribe antibiotics. Yet she noted that research shows “patients are act...
Source: AMA Wire - Category: Journals (General) Authors: Source Type: news