Prescribed Too Often, Justified Too Rarely: The Systemic Forces Keeping Ciprofloxacin Overuse Alive in American Medicine
Despite mounting evidence of serious adverse effects and accelerating resistance, ciprofloxacin continues to be prescribed at rates that far exceed what clinical guidelines recommend. A convergence of habit, institutional inertia, and structural healthcare incentives has made course-correcting far more difficult than simply updating a prescribing protocol. Understanding why overuse persists—and what levers can realistically shift the pattern—is now an urgent priority for American medicine.