Four in five doctors admit to prescribing POINTLESS treatments to get pushy patients off their backs, poll reveals 

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Pushy patients are being prescribed pointless medication as doctors give in to their demands to get them off their backs, experts have warned.

Four in five doctors admit they have given antibiotics, and ordered X-rays, tests and scans their patients did not need.

A new poll, commissioned by The Times, found patient expectation and pressure was the reason most often cited by medics.

It comes as the Academy of Medical Royal Colleges launched a new campaign to urge doctors to avoid needless treatments.

A new poll has suggested over-prescribing of needless treatments by doctors is rife, with 83 per cent of respondents admitting to giving patients unnecessary medication and tests

The Choosing Well drive encourages medics to tell their patients that in many situation 'doing nothing can often be the best approach'.

The poll of 500 doctors, by the Medix consultancy, suggests over-prescribing is rife, with 83 per cent of respondents saying have carried out unnecessary treatments.

Thirty-eight per cent said they did so after buckling to pressure exerted by patients, who expect to leave the surgery with a prescription in hand.

Meanwhile, 16 per cent said uncertainty was to blame, while 11 per cent said they feared being sued.

The Choosing Well campaign aims to 'change the way medicine and medical treatments are prescribed', the Academy said.

Experts there point to similar schemes already running in the US and Canada, adding it could have 'far reaching implications for the nature of healthcare' in the UK.

Among the recommendations for doctors, the Academy suggests:

• Exercising restraint when ordering X-rays for lower back pain, unless there is an indication it could be the result of a more serious illness
• Avoid the use of antipsychotics as a first choice to treat behavioural and psychological symptoms of dementia
• Not prescribing antibiotics for patients with upper-respiratory infections that are unlikely to be viral in origin or self-limiting, such as for colds and flu 

Doctors said they felt pressured by expectant patients into prescribing antibiotics, pictured, as well as referring patients for X-rays, scans and other tests they didn't need 

The poll found that while the majority of doctors felt their colleagues would view the campaign as positive, 64 per cent said they feared patients would see it as a cost-cutting initiative. 

But the moves, experts stress, are not about rationing drugs, rather it is about focusing on medical need.

'As medicine has progressed, many in the medical profession and patient representative groups, believe the trend has been to "over medicalise" illness,' the Academy said.

The Academy, working with the BMJ, is about to embark on an audit of all Royal Colleges, asking each to identify five treatments or tests which are of questionable value.  

Professor Dame Sue Bailey, chair of the Academy said: 'The whole point of Choosing Wisely is to encourage doctors to have conversations with their patients and explain honestly what the value of a treatment is. 

'It's not and will never be about refusing treatment or in any way jeopardising safety. 

'It's just about taking a grown-up approach to healthcare and being good stewards of the resources we have.'

Responding to the poll, she told The Times, the findings are not that surprising.

'We need to stop, reflect and be open about what is happening in this relationship between doctors and patients and have a public conversation about it,' she said.

'What's important is to discover why doctors find themselves in this situation and really look at the conversations doctors have with their patients.' 

She added: 'It's certainly not about rationing. It categorically isn't.'