Now, if you use up all your current supply, what do you do next time you get sick?
By the time you know you need an antibiotic
How do you know you need an antibiotic?
Even doctors are discouraged from self-prescribing, so without seeing a medical practitioner, and having whichever tests they feel are appropriate for the symptoms, how can you be sure that those antibiotics are the correct treatment?
If, say, you were experiencing diarrhea which was preventing you from going to the GP, then an over-the-counter remedy such as Immodium should give enough short-term relief to allow a visit to the GP.
If you really are so severely unwell that you can't reach a GP, then perhaps an ambulance really is appropriate.
To address your question of hospital-induced bankruptcy, that's a dysfunction in the US healthcare system: it doesn't make it medically appropriate to keep a stash of antibiotics, although it does contribute to unsafe practices such as self-diagnosing and self-treatment.
An excellent question. If house calls aren't going to be brought back, the best I can think of is to allow consulting over the phone.
> If you really are so severely unwell that you can't reach a GP, then perhaps an ambulance really is appropriate.
Come on, if everyone called an ambulance every time they were too sick to travel, the system would probably collapse under the overload. Besides, every time you set foot inside a hospital, you expose yourself to the risk of picking up an antibiotic-resistant infection.
If house calls aren't going to be brought back, the best
I can think of is to allow consulting over the phone.
My local (UK) GP does do this, although I'm not sure how widespread this is. The times I've had a GP consult over the phone, I've been happy with the outcome. My GP surgery does also offer home-visits, although they ask for a telephone consult first.
if everyone called an ambulance every time they were too sick to travel
I was thinking specifically of cases where someone is too sick to travel, but also doesn't improve for a couple of days. Many illnesses such as winter vomiting bug (norovirus) and food poisoning are usually short-lived, and will either ease off enough to allow the patient to get to the GP, or be severe enough that a GP wouldn't treat it in any case, but instead refer it to a hospital.
Even doctors are discouraged from self-prescribing, so without seeing a medical practitioner, and having whichever tests they feel are appropriate for the symptoms, how can you be sure that those antibiotics are the correct treatment?
If, say, you were experiencing diarrhea which was preventing you from going to the GP, then an over-the-counter remedy such as Immodium should give enough short-term relief to allow a visit to the GP.
If you really are so severely unwell that you can't reach a GP, then perhaps an ambulance really is appropriate.
To address your question of hospital-induced bankruptcy, that's a dysfunction in the US healthcare system: it doesn't make it medically appropriate to keep a stash of antibiotics, although it does contribute to unsafe practices such as self-diagnosing and self-treatment.