Health study: Antibiotic prescriptions

Doctors who are overworked, have been trained in other countries or who have been practising longer are more likely to prescribe antibiotics inappropriately, according to research out of McGill that highlights a major problem facing public-health officials. The study, published today in the Canadian Medical Association Journal, assessed the prescribing habits of hundreds of Quebec doctors over an eight-year period, identifying those who prescribe antibiotics in ways that can lead to drug resistance. Genevieve Cadieux, the study's co-author and a researcher at McGill's Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, said, "The most daunting concern is that we're not going to have effective drugs to treat illnesses." Robyn Tamblyn, who co-authored the report, said more research is needed to determine why doctors in these broad categories seem to be more likely to prescribe inappropriately.