Prescribing antibiotics? Doctors must explain why
NEW DELHI: In a bid to curb the misuse of antibiotics, the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS), under the Union Health Ministry, asked doctors to make it a mandatory practice to mention the reason in writing for prescribing them.
“It is an urgent appeal to all the doctors to make it mandatory practice to write indication/reason/justification while prescribing antimicrobials,” DGHS, Professor Atul Goel wrote in a letter dated January 1. Doctors must refer to the specific reason or the medical conditions for which the antibiotics have been prescribed to a patient.
The DGHS also asked pharmacist associations to ensure antibiotics are sold only on the prescription of a qualified doctor. “Misuse and overuse of antimicrobials is one the main drivers in the emergence of drug-resistant pathogens. With few new antibiotics in the Research and Development pipeline, prudent antibiotic use is the only option to delay the development of resistance,” it said.