[swalkergibson]

No doubt. This is absolutely spot-on.

The other problem that exists in the US is that the "family doctor" has an incentive to pack his schedule full of as many people as he can to collect as much money as possible. If someone comes in complaining that they have had a sore throat for a day, then they are going to get a pill; regardless of whether or not the infection is viral or bacterial. It is way, way faster to send the patient out the door with a pill that they think will make them feel better than it is to educate them about the macro effects of improper prescription of antibiotics. The only thing they care about is missing another day of work because they have a big deadline and the boss is breathing down their neck.