re: Wtf happened to penicillin?

Strep pharyngitis does not need to be treated in adults. Antibiotics only shorten your symptoms by about 24hrs. We treat kids with strep to prevent the minuscule amount of them that get the sequelae of strep infections...ie, rheumatic heart disease and glomerulonephritis. Now, comvincing someone that they don't need a prescription is the hard part. Big pharma has people convinced that there's a pill for everything. And people do not want to feel like they've wasted third time and money by leaving empty handed. Hospital administrators don't give a shite about patients or antibiotic resistance. They care about money...ie, Press-Ganey scores. Happy patients who get what they want (not what they need) do not complain and the hospitals don't get dinged by insurance/Medicare-Medicaid.
Healthcare is shite in this country...but better than most other countries.