OPINIONAnthrax scare: Time for informed leadershipThe AMA was prepared long before Sept. 11 to show leadership in the event of a bioterrorism attack.Editorial. Nov. 12, 2001. The anthrax scare has created a need for well-grounded leadership in medicine and public health not seen since the AIDS crisis in the 1980s. As it was with AIDS, the response to the anthrax postal attacks so far has produced both praiseworthy efforts and missteps. The testing of congressional staffers, at the first sign of trouble, demonstrated a quick response. However, testing was ordered too late for postal service employees. Two postal workers died, and others got sick, from inhaled anthrax spores that apparently escaped the envelopes en route to Capitol Hill -- a risk not taken into account early enough in the investigation. On the individual physician level, it is noteworthy that the first diagnosed cases of anthrax in Florida and New York were discovered by physicians who did an admirable job of putting all the facts together, clinical and circumstantial. Meanwhile, it is unfortunate to report that some physicians have proven too pliable in light of patient demands for antibiotics. The result is an alarming number of unnecessary prescriptions for Cipro, the drug of choice for initial treatment of anthrax. That the privileged, or at least the persistent, can obtain such prescription drugs without being realistically at risk of exposure is disturbing. "It's not what you know, it's who you know" may be useful advice on how to succeed in the business world, but it should not apply to patients who are trying to obtain prescription drugs.
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Copyright 2001 American Medical Association. All rights reserved.
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