In a free market in health care, I assume there would be over the counter antibiotics if not in pharmacies, somewhere. Someone has brought it up to me that this could lead to terrible results as more and more people take antibiotics the diseases adapt and become more resistant. Is this true? How would the market address such a problem? Would companies just need to keep coming up with new antibiotics and continually reinventing their drugs to stay a step ahead of the disease? Is that really that big of a deal? Are the new resistant strains actually more dangerous or just immune to the old medicine?
I'm not sure how severe of a problem this is. The absence of TV/internet time spent on government crises would serve to highlight issues like this somewhat. My family always knew that antibiotics are innefective against most common viral "colds". A simple office visit to a doctor would be much cheaper and people would receive proper advice there. Also, market demand to have the posession of any dangerous substance, antibiotics or dynamite, be controlled would lead to free market regulation.
Finally, I heard that a risk in some of the very deepest caves, such as those in Mexico is odd bacteria people are not accustomed to, and these are hoped to be used on future antibiotics.
Democracy means the opportunity to be everyone's slave.—Karl Kraus.
" Is this true?"
Diseases mainly become more resistant if anti-biotics are used improperly, most people don't take the full dose or are underprescribed anti-biotics.
"Are the new resistant strains actually more dangerous or just immune to the old medicine?"
Before antibiotics were invented bacterial infections were the number one killer of humanity. More dangerous and immune to old medicine is a tautology.
But to answer the primary question, I don't see how having a free market would cause people to over-consume antibiotics. The question itself doesn't make sense to me. There would still be doctors, it isn't like people would just self-medicate or use WebMD to solve their illnesses.
From my trip to Mexico, it seemed like you could buy just about any drug over the counter. And there were pharmacies like every other block. Only narcotics are restricted.
But if bacterial resistance is a real problem, then it is in the antibiotic manufacturers interest to get together and restrict their sale or produce advertising to encourage proper use of the drugs. (Probably this behavior would be criminal collusion or antitrust or some such nonsense in USA). The manufacturers who do not join in will be ostracized.
BTW I've never understood the science of bacterial resistance. Wouldn't multiply resistant bacteria carry burdens like increased genetic complexity and thicker cell walls (requiring more nutrients to build)? Wouldn't these burdens degrade bacteria's ability to survive and reproduce? Surely bacteria cannot become immune to everything simultaneously. Otherwise our immune systems couldn't stop them.
My understanding was that anti-biotic restistant strains of bacteria spread in hospitals because many patients had their immmune systems compromised by overuse of anti-biotics. These strains can attack people with weak immune systems and spread in an environment where such patients are prevalent. If this is the case freely available anti-biotics are not a problem, its there overuse by medical staff themselves which is the problem. I think it is norway which has drastically cut back on their use to great results. In a free market you could choose a hospital which used drugs sensibly.
"Someone has brought it up to me that this could lead to terrible results as more and more people take antibiotics the diseases adapt and become more resistant. "
This is happening currently anyway.
BTW, be careful with antibiotics... they destroy the good bacteria too!
Hello Mises community. I am a pharmacist and have been considering this topic recently. Can anyone provide any information on how the free market would regulate this type of scenario? Thanks.
My intestinal tract would be destroyed if it weren't for Probiotics replenishing that good bacteria.