Yes, it is true. Half the health care trusts in England are offering monetary bonuses to doctors for prescriptions for antibiotics they do not write out. (How is it proved, as it is something which does not occur? If I have a blood test for anaemia, could my GP claim that he had not, after reflection, given me a prescription for an antibiotic?)
Doctors should know that there are some conditions, e.g viral or fungal, where antibiotics are inappropriate. Worse, over-prescription has reduced the potency of some antibiotics over the years, as bacteria mutate. Is the payment to compensate the doctor for having to explain to a patient who is demanding "a pill" that there is nothing? Are we patients so overbearing?
Is a payment likely to make doctors prescribe even more, to promote income?
They have paid bonuses to doctors to keep their patients out of hospital, or to use generic medicines which are cheaper. Now, in a kind of mad logical extension they are paying doctors not to write prescriptions!
I am reminded of Jim Hacker discussing an empty new hospital with Sir Humphrey, who has just claimed that the hospital is working very efficiently. When Hacker points out that there are not yet any patients, Sir Humphrey suggests that patients are the obstacle to smooth running and so.....
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