The doctor's office just told me that they were not allowed to call in

[Avalux]

142. I know you're upset, but there's a good reason for not giving it to you on your word.

Antibiotics ARE over-prescribed. I consider it irresponsible and even harmful for a doc to 'call-in' an antibiotic without examining a patient first (I don't care if they have access to your files). More times than not the illness is viral and antibiotics will not work. There is a looming antibiotic resistance crisis and the docs who prescribe without examination (or because a patient insists they NEED an antibiotic in spite of evidence of a bacterial infection) are contributing to it.

They are not created equal either - broad spectrum heavy hitters will kill just about anything, which makes it easier to give them out, even if a more targeted antibiotic would do the trick. These broad spectrum antibiotics need to be protected from misuse and overuse. Once bacteria become resistant to them, we're screwed.

So maybe there isn't a law and the doc office told you that so you wouldn't give them a hard time. Hopefully you understand why and made an appointment.