An FBI agent, a guest in an airport hotel, was suffering a bad cough. He informed me that this happened every year, and his doctor knocked it out with an antibiotic.
My philosophy on prescribing a useless antibiotic (pneumonia excepted, coughs in healthy adults are viruses) is that I don’t unless the patient threatens to make a scene.
This FBI man seemed out of an old movie: dressed in suit and tie, composed and unemotional. He made eye contact, listened intently, answered succinctly, submitted to my exam, and did not interrupt as I spoke.
Afterward, I explained that he had a virus that was incurable but would go away in a few days. As I delivered advice and handed over cough medicine and tablets for his fever, I could see him absorbing the news that I wasn’t prescribing the antibiotic.
He was not a person to quarrel with a figure of authority, but, in his mind, I was clearly incompetent. He said nothing, but I could sense his turmoil….
Deciding the ice was getting very thin, I added: “You said your doctor gives you an antibiotic. This illness doesn’t require one, but I’ll write a prescription in case you want to call him and discuss it.”
He accepted it without comment. He also handed back the medical form that I had asked him to sign. In the hall, glancing at the paper, I saw that he had covered it with obscenities.
About Mike Oppenheim
Doctor Oppenheim has been a hotel doctor in Los Angeles for thirty years. He has made about 15,000 visits. Authors contact:
Mike Oppenheim
Email: michaeloppen@yahoo.com
