A disturbing and growing trend. Telephone medicine like this is just asking for trouble:

Already, though, says Dartmouth pediatrics professor James Sargent, there are many situations where doctors call in antibiotic prescriptions and refills “without cause for alarm.”

For example, Sargent said via e-mail, his practice often calls in prescriptions for antibiotic drops for pinkeye and pills for sore throats in people who have a family member diagnosed with strep throat.

Randall Stafford, associate professor at Stanford’s Prevention Research Center, acknowledges that phoned-in antibiotic prescriptions are OK in some situations, such as for women with a repeat urinary tract infection. Still, he called Marder’s findings “concerning.”

“The standard of care is to have adequate information to make reliable decisions,” Stafford says. “Usually, that requires a physical exam.”