Justify while prescribing antimicrobials to patients: Odisha govt to doctors

Bhubaneswar, Jan 24 (PTI) The Odisha government on Wednesday directed doctors in the state to write in the prescriptions why they were prescribing antimicrobials, such as antibiotics, to patients.

State Health and Family Welfare Secretary Shalini Pandit wrote to health directors, superintendents of government and private medical colleges, and chief district medical & public health officers (CDM&PHOs) in this regard, following the instruction of the Union Health Ministry.

Pandit asked the doctors to mandatorily mention exact indication, reason and justification while prescribing antimicrobials to patients.

Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) puts many of the gains of modern medicine at risk and threatens the effective prevention and treatment of infections caused by resistant microbes, resulting in prolonged illness and greater risk of death, she said.

Treatment failures also lead to longer periods of infectivity and prohibitively high cost of the second-line drugs may result in failure to treat the disease in many individuals, she added.

"Misuse and overuse of antimicrobials is one of the main drivers in the emergence of drug-resistant pathogens. With few new antibiotics in the research & development pipeline, prudent antibiotic use is the only option to delay the development of resistance," the letter said.

Antimicrobials, such as antiseptics, antibiotics and antivirals, are therapeutic substances used to treat infections. PTI BBM BBM SOM