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Current Management of Acute Bronchitis in Ambulatory Care-Reply
Arch G. Mainous III, PhD;
Roger J. Zoorob, MD, MPH;
William J. Hueston, MD
Department of Family Practice University of Kentucky Lexington
Arch Fam Med. 1996;5(8):440.
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In reply
Drs Hahn and Benz bring up several very important points regarding the widespread practice of prescribing antibiotics and the lack of use of bronchodilators for acute bronchitis. Dr Benz indicates that in a busy practice it may be cost-effective to accommodate the patient's request or perceived request for an antibiotic, rather than being drawn into an extended discussion with the patient about why antibiotics are not needed and a bronchodilator may actually make them feel better. It may cost the physician more to change his or her familiar prescribing practices in both a fee-for-service and a capitated environment. Unfortunately, as evidence continues to accumulate on the problem of overuse of antibiotics in the emergence of drugresistant pathogens,1 physicians are put in the position of having to assess their practices in the context of not only the quality of the care delivered to the patient, the financial viability of
. . . [Full Text PDF of this Article]
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