USE of complementary medicines (CMs) may help reduce over prescribing of antibiotics, ultimately contributing positively to the fight against anti-microbial resistance (AMR), according to a UK study published in the BMJ.
GP surgeries with doctors who also have training in complementary and alternative medicines appear to be less likely to prescribe antibiotics to patients and may hold the key to reducing over-prescribing of these drugs, the study showed.
Data from 7,274 GP surgeries was studied and compared with nine practices that had GPs who had training in integrative medicine, looking at overall prescribing of antibiotics, as well as prescribing of these drugs for respiratory tract infections and for urinary tract infections.
While the authors pointed out that patients who visit integrative medicine doctors may be less keen on using antibiotics anyway, the data was interesting and demanded further investigation.
CLICK HERE to access the study.
The above article was sent to subscribers in Pharmacy Daily's issue from 20 Mar 18
To see the full newsletter, see the embedded issue below or CLICK HERE to download Pharmacy Daily from 20 Mar 18
