12-24-2025, 05:24 PM
I'm a general practitioner in a community clinic, and I'm seeing a worrying trend of patients presenting with common infections that aren't responding to first-line antibiotics, likely due to previous overprescription. I feel caught between the immediate pressure to provide relief and the long-term public health imperative to curb antibiotic resistance. For other primary care physicians, what strategies or patient communication techniques have you found effective for explaining why you're not prescribing an antibiotic for a likely viral infection, and how do you manage the expectation for a quick fix while still providing supportive care plans that patients feel are valuable?