CDA Essentials 2018 • Volume 5 • Issue 1

30 | 2018 | Issue 1 I ssues and P eople Dr. Peter Daley, assistant professor of medicine at Memorial University in St. John’s, and consultant in infectious diseases, says antibiotics have become overused in medicine because the indications for using them have softened. “At one time, we used antibiotics only for life-threatening infections,” he says. “Now, we use them for minor bacterial infections; we started using them for viral infections when we don’t know what the true diagnosis is; and we’ve started using them for prevention of infections.” In an interview with Oasis Discussions, Dr. Daley outlines three actions that could help decrease antibiotic use:  Measure physicians’ antibiotic usage. In Canada, we don’t have a lot of year over year data on antibiotic usage.  Direct physicians towards refusing an antibiotic when a patient requests it.  Educate patients to realize that there may be an alternative therapy for a minor or viral infection. “We need to change our perception of antibiotics: they are not neutral, they are not benign, they are harmful to patients, they are harmful to populations. It’s about understanding the appropriate way to use them.” a Reference 1. Public Health Agency of Canada. 2016. Canadian Antimicrobial Resistance Surveillance System – Report 2016. Available from: canada.ca/en/public-health/services/publications/drugs- health-products/canadian-antimicrobial-resistance-surveillance-system-report-2016.html Antimicrobial Stewardship Physician Prescribing Practices To hear the full interview, visit: oasisdiscussions.ca/ 2017/11/16/amrs Doctors in Newfoundland and Labrador prescribe the most antibiotics in the country, as measured by the number of defined daily doses per 1000 people, according to the Canadian Antimicrobial Resistance Surveillance System Report for 2016. 1 We need to change our perception of antibiotics: they are not neutral, they are not benign, they are harmful to patients, they are harmful to populations. It’s about understanding the appropriate way to use them.” – Dr. Peter Daley