MD Survey: Antibiotics & Opioids Are Most Overused Low-Value Treatments

Healthleadersmedia.com reports: "The over-use of antibiotics and opioids is contributing to resistance and addiction, but not much else in the opinion of some primary care physicians.

Primary care doctors surveyed by the American College of Physicians listed the use of the two drugs among the four most common low-value treatments that are most frequently used by doctors, according to survey data published by the Annals of Internal Medicine...

Overuse of antibiotics was the practice most commonly cited, accounting for 27.3% of the responses. The overuse of nonpalliative care was cited by (8.6%) of the respondents and pharmacologic treatments (mostly narcotics and opioids) for chronic pain management (7.3%)."

For years now, the Center for Disease Control has been working to educate doctors and the public about when NOT to use antibiotics. Now the CDC is working with states to deal with the epidemic of opioid abuse and deaths. Both are used when unnecessary and carry significant risks with that overuse. Educate yourself and choose conservative treatment whenever possible.