More than a quarter of patients in the United States lie to their doctors to secure antibiotic prescriptions they likely do not need, according to two recent studies. Researchers found that while these fabrications are generally poor, they succeed in securing prescriptions the vast majority of the time.
Flawed Deception and Misguided Requests
Published in JAMA Network Open, the two linked studies were led by Alistair Thorpe of the University of Utah. The research team examined online survey responses from over 1,000 adults and discovered that over 25 percent of participants admitted to lying to a clinician at least once in order to obtain antibiotics for themselves or a child they care for. Patients typically lied by exaggerating their symptoms, inventing them outright, or doing a combination of both.
The studies noted that the falsehoods often centered on symptoms of infections that antibiotics cannot treat. The most frequent lies involved cold symptoms such as fevers, coughs, and sore throats. Because colds are caused by viruses rather than bacteria, antibiotics are ineffective against them.
Despite the transparency of the deceptive tactics, the dishonesty often yielded results from medical professionals. Out of the respondents who admitted to lying, 77 percent of adults and 87 percent of caregivers reported that their fabrications successfully resulted in the antibiotic prescriptions they desired.
The research team stated that these findings highlight a major concern for healthcare professionals handling antibiotic prescriptions, as well as for the broader fields of public health and antimicrobial stewardship.
Detailed Breakdown of Deception
The researchers evaluated 1,371 online survey submissions and identified 959 complete and valid responses. Out of that group, 268 respondents, or 28 percent, stated they had misrepresented their symptoms to obtain antibiotics. Among those individuals, 108 exaggerated their symptoms, 19 fabricated symptoms entirely, and 141 used a combination of both methods.
A separate analysis focused on 263 respondents who identified as caregivers. Within this group, 63 participants, or 27 percent, reported that they had misrepresented a child’s symptoms in order to secure antibiotics.
