BDA condemns online antibiotic prescribing
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- Published: Tuesday, 21 February 2017 08:20
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Online pharmacies are fuelling the rise of drug-resistant superbugs by handing out antibiotics without asking for a prescription, an investigation has found. Chair of the BDA’s Health and Science Committee, Russ Ladwa, said: “The health risk presented by antimicrobial resistance requires a change in gear from patients, practitioners, and policymakers alike.”
A study by Imperial College London found evidence suggesting that nearly half of online-only pharmacies are selling the drugs illegally, with eight in 10 letting customers choose the size of the their dosages. Dr Sara Boyd, co-author of the NHS-backed study, said: “These findings are a real concern, and raise several important issues regarding antibiotic resistance and patient safety with online pharmacies.”
Her research team analysed 20 pharmacies that were available for UK consumers to access online, and found 75 per cent appeared not to be legally registered. Meanwhile only 30 per cent of the websites asked customers to complete a health questionnaire prior to dispensing drugs, the study found. The research is published in the Journal of Antimicrobial Chemotherapy.
Prescribing antibiotics without seeing dental patients first is indefensible, the British Dental Association said. Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) has been identified by the World Health Organization as the most serious global threat to public health, but online prescribing encourages a view that antibiotics can be obtained easily at the click of a button when their use should be restrained to only when they are absolutely necessary.
In a recent article the Sunday Mirror revealed just how easy it is to get antibiotics online and how difficult it is to regulate online providers. It took one journalist, posing as a patient, just three minutes to get one antibiotic prescription for cystitis approved after completing a questionnaire. The journalists were even able to get multiple batches of pills because there was no apparent cross-checking between sites.
Chair of the BDA’s Health and Science Committee, Russ Ladwa, said: “The health risk presented by antimicrobial resistance requires a change in gear from patients, practitioners, and policymakers alike. To this end, the Sunday Mirror’s article reinforces the importance of raising awareness of AMR with the public, and in the case of a suspected dental infection seeing a dentist first rather than going online for antibiotics.
"Patients may be surprised to learn that antibiotics won’t cure their dental abscesses and that surgical intervention coupled with analgesia is more often the treatment of choice for tooth-related pain. It doesn’t help that some online pharmacies are dishing out antibiotics like smarties for dental problems, which sends out completely the wrong message to patients.
"As dentistry accounts for around 10% of antibiotics prescribed in the UK, dentists are willing to take responsibility for their share in combatting this risk. The BDA has been in the forefront of ensuring that dentists are aware of the need to prescribe antibiotics judiciously. In a collaboration with national and international experts, the BDA launched a consensus report in 2015 to help dentists play their part in the global fight against AMR. What we don’t have is a contract that provides adequate time for dentists to treat emergency cases. So we call on the government to recognise the threat posed by AMR and factor this into any reformed package.”
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