Prevention

      Preventing the loss on antibiotics as medical therapy and the possible ubiquity of antibiotic-resistant bacteria relies on certain people to carry out certain actions as part of their roles within the healthcare system. Public health agencies must promote and expect best practices from primary patients, healthcare providers, and policy-makers.

Patients

     Patients include "normal, everyday people" seeking medication attention or advice for either themselves are someone they are responsible for. Patients need to be aware and diligent of several responsibilites:

• Antibiotics treat bacteria only, not viruses. Patients should not demand antibiotic prescriptions for viral infections or for mild illness.
• If your provider prescribes antibiotics, take the full course over the full presecribed period. Stopping when your symptoms lessen may allow the bacteria to survive and re-infect you. Do not share unused antibiotics or save any for next time.

Providers

      Providers include doctors, nurses, pharmacists, and anyone directly involved with the delivery of medicine. Providers should:

• Prescribe and administer only correct antibiotics based on proper tests (such as cultures). Doctors tend to prescribe according to patient expectations rather than actual need[12].
• Counsel patients on proper use, fulfillment of their prescriptions and possible consequences if they don't.

Policy-Makers

     Policy-makers are healthcare administrators, public health professionals, and public servants entrusted with the general health and delivery of medicine of their populations. Their responsibilities include:

• The establishment and/or maintenance of a surveillance system concerning antibiotic-resistance bacteria (and any other microbials), especially healthcare-related infections.
• Informing the public on related dangers and responsibilities.
• Infection control and public sanitation/hygiene systems dedicated to halting the spread of bacteria.
• Regulation and legislation mandating the proper use, manufacturing, and development of antibiotics.

We all have responsibilities, and only by carrying them out can we prevent the end of antibiotics, and the return of once-deadly diseases.