A huge study of 706 general practices in the UK during 2002 to 2017, with 66.2 million person years of follow-up, found that rates of antibiotic prescribing varied widely, but that patients who attended practices with low rates of antibiotic prescribing did not suffer higher rates of serious bacterial infections. The clear message was that general practices with high rates of antibiotic prescribing could safely reduce their prescribing rates without any harm arising for their patients.

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