Nov. 16--PORTSMOUTH -- What if you got sick and there was no cure?
That's the weighty question pondered by local health professionals at Portsmouth Regional Hospital and Appledore Medical Group, which employ a large number of the doctors in the city.
They've signed on to the Get Smart program sponsored by the national Centers for Disease Control, which aims to fight back against the overuse of antibiotics and the rise of resistant bacteria.
Over-prescribing of antibiotics, especially in cases of viral infections, is a problem drawing attention across the country. Viruses are not killed by antibiotics, unlike bacteria.
Hospital director of infection control Martha Wassell said development of new antibiotics is slow at best, and it's key that patients know when they shouldn't ask doctors to prescribe antibiotics for themselves or their children. It's also important to ensure doctors do not give out antibiotics simply because patients demand them. According to Wassell, one study found that, nationally, pediatricians prescribed antibiotics 62 percent of the time if they felt parents expected them to, against 7 percent if there was not that expectation.
"It's a program to share with both providers and consumers about how and when to use appropriate antibiotics. It's also what can happen if appropriate antibiotic usage is not in place," Wassell said.
It's chiefly a matter of outreach, according to Wassell. She plans to take the patient end of the message to the community and local schools, while hospital chief of medicine Dr. Timothy Pike and infectious disease specialist Dr. David Itkin speak with local doctors.
The initiative will continue throughout the winter and early spring, the height of flu and cold season, and will be looked at over the summer to determine what needs to be tweaked. Wassell said a program which brings hospital staff together to ensure they're using antibiotics on the sickest patients correctly will continue throughout the year.
Methicillin-resistant saphylococcus aureus, or MRSA, is the leading disease of concern, with the CDC estimating 94,000 people nationwide developed cases in 2005 and more than 18,000 died from it. It's on the rise at the local level as well, according to Wassell.
"We've seen a significant increase in community-associated MRSA infections," she said, which is either lower than or mirrors the national rate at hospitals.
"This is right here in our own back yard."
Anyone with questions about the program can call Wassell at 436-5110.
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