More Than a Quarter of People Lie to Get Antibiotics
A study finds that over 25% of people have lied to obtain antibiotic prescriptions. Experts warn this could fuel antibiotic resistance and erode trust between doctors and patients.
New findings show that more than 25% of people have lied to clinicians in order to get antibiotics. The study was carried out by Thorpe and colleagues and published alongside a commentary by Linder. The results raise concern that antibiotics obtained through deception could add to the growth of drug-resistant infections. Misuse and overuse of antibiotics are known to drive resistance.
Scale of resistance in the US
This week the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) released an updated report on antimicrobial resistance threats. It found that drug-resistant bacteria and fungi cause 9.7 million infections and 50,800 deaths in the US each year.
Trust and individual risk
In his commentary, Linder said an even more worrying consequence may be the erosion of trust between clinicians and patients. He acknowledged the resistance problem but said that for an individual patient, in most clinical circumstances, resistance is "probably irrelevant." The more pertinent question for doctors, he said, is whether a prescription is more likely to help or hurt the patient.
Linder noted that unnecessary antibiotics offer no benefit but carry a risk of adverse events and allergic reactions. They can also disrupt healthy microbiomes, which can open the door to opportunistic pathogens such as Clostridioides difficile. The CDC's updated report classifies that bacterium as a "serious threat." In his view, prescribing antibiotics when they are not indicated, mainly to placate a patient, is medically incorrect and could itself be seen as a form of dishonesty.
Linder cited philosopher Sissela Bok, who wrote in 1978 that antibiotics are sometimes used as placebos. She also observed that many parents come to believe they must request antibiotics whenever their child has a fever or a cold. Bok argued that such practices threaten the entire institution of medicine.
Linder concluded that clinicians are obliged to act in patients' best interest, even if patients hope for something different or lie about their symptoms. Thorpe and colleagues call for addressing the reasons patients lie in the first place. They say better communication about antibiotics is needed to address patient concerns, support understanding of appropriate use, and strengthen patient-clinician relationships.
