Dr. Richard E Besser This is Me

Education

 Web References

1. 1. www.chirosmart.net

   www.chirosmart.net/abc/cernk.t - [Cached]

   Published on: 6/7/2000   Last Visited: 11/4/2006

   Director of Antimicrobial Resistance for the CDC, Dr. Richard Besser, told an audience of physicians attending a medical conference that each year US physicians write $50 million worth of prescriptions that are ineffectual and unnecessary. A common reason for unnecessary prescriptions is patient demand for treatment. "We are facing a crisis because doctors are pressured to prescribe antibiotics for the common cold and inner ear infection, yet we know that it is not prudent to do so," Besser said. "We must collectively inform our patients about the reasons why overprescribing antibiotics will not help patients return to work sooner, and that in the long run, could make them more susceptible to drug-resistant diseases." Besser said that three fourths of all outpatients' antibiotics in the US have been prescribed for infections such as otitis media (ear infections), sinusitis, bronchitis, pharyngitis, or non-specific upper respiratory tract infection. Besser presented research showing that if unnecessary antibiotic use is curtailed, drug resistance will diminish.

2. 2. Antibiotics

   www.jeffreywarber.com/hc%20pag - [Cached]

   Last Visited: 3/7/2008

   Director of Antimicrobial Resistance for the CDC, Dr. Richard Besser, told an audience of physicians attending a medical conference that each year US physicians write $50 million worth of prescriptions that are ineffectual and unnecessary. A common reason for unnecessary prescriptions is patient demand for treatment.
   
   "We are facing a crisis because doctors are pressured to prescribe antibiotics for the common cold and inner ear infection, yet we know that it is not prudent to do so," Besser said. "We must collectively inform our patients about the reasons why overprescribing antibiotics will not help patients return to work sooner, and that in the long run, could make them more susceptible to drug-resistant diseases."
   
   Besser said that three fourths of all outpatients' antibiotics in the US have been prescribed for infections such as otitis media (ear infections), sinusitis, bronchitis, pharyngitis, or non-specific upper respiratory tract infection.
   
   Besser presented research showing that if unnecessary antibiotic use is curtailed, drug resistance will diminish.
   ...
   "Don't ask for an antibiotic," says Richard E Besser, MD, another author of the guidelines. "Ask for the best treatment available. Talk with your clinician about what to expect with your illness and question whether you need an antibiotic. ... There are studies that show that a clinician is more likely to prescribe an antibiotic if he or she thinks the patient wants one, regardless of the diagnosis and regardless of whether the patient truly wants one. That shows that if patients and doctors can talk to each other and truly express their wishes, that in itself will decrease the over-reliance on antibiotics." Besser is director of the CDC campaign to promote appropriate antibiotic use for respiratory infections