Up to 60 percent of Australian patients who seek medical attention for colds and related viral illnesses are walking away from their general practice with antibiotic prescriptions despite the fact that the drug will have little impact on their condition.
The over prescribing of these drugs is resulting in an alarming world-wide decline in their effectiveness.
It’s a major medical problem here in Australian and one that UTS Law academic David Carter is hoping to solve.
Dr Carter has been awarded a prestigious research fellowship to study the development of regulation to combat the over use of antibiotics and related drugs.
Officially, it is the National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) Early Career Fellowship and the project is “Using Responsive Regulation to Manage Antimicrobial Resistance in Primary Care”.
Dr Carter says the growing ineffectiveness of antibiotics threatens the future of essential medical treatment and it is vital we find ways to reduce their inappropriate use.
There is a range of prescribing guidelines for doctors and health professionals but patients and medical practitioners seem to struggle with meeting the recommendations.
Dr Carter says at the moment only about one in four prescriptions comply with prescribing guidelines for conditions like Sinusitis.
Law and regulation is often seen as a barrier, but well designed regulation can support the good work going on every day in trying to combat inappropriate use of antibiotics.
He says the research will provide critical new evidence.
This Fellowship will seek to inform clinicians and policymakers on the best way to combine different interventions into a cohesive and responsive regulatory system that will reduce inappropriate use of antimicrobials in the Australian primary care setting.
UTS Law’s Associate Dean (Research), Professor Brian Opeskin says it is an honour for the Faculty.
This is a great credit to David and the Faculty, the more so because NHMRC fellowships in law are a rarity. The Early Career Fellowship will allow David to focus on his research program in the years ahead, and to make a significant scholarly contribution to his chosen field.
Dean of Law, Lesley Hitchens says it also highlights the University’s commitment to collaboration as the research will take place in both the Faculty of Law and the Centre for Health Economics Research and Evaluation (CHERE)
The award of this Fellowship recognises the value of interdisciplinary research to address critical problems such as overuse of antibiotics. Dr Carter is a member of the UTS Law | Health | Justice Centre which shares that interdisciplinary focus in its research on health technology and law and health inequalities.”
The four-year project begins next year.