GPs should consider delaying prescription of antibiotics, says NICE

Doctors should resist pressure from patients to prescribe antibiotics by sending samples for testing to confirm the cause of an infection first or by offering a delayed prescription, the final guideline on antibiotic stewardship published by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) has said.1

Data indicate that nine in 10 GPs feel pressurised by patients to prescribe antibiotics when they are unnecessary2 and that 97% of patients who ask for antibiotics are ultimately prescribed them,3 by consulting another doctor or even attending emergency departments if they are denied them the first time.

Mark Baker, director of the Centre for Clinical Practice at NICE, …