Common antibiotics
At a glance
- Medicare prescriptions, 2024
- 46,677,008
- Medicare drug cost
- $380.7M
- Average cost per prescription
- $8.16
- Clinicians who prescribed it
- 537,588
Where it is prescribed
What these drugs are
Antibiotics treat bacterial infections. They do not work against viruses such as colds or flu.
Who prescribes it
- Nurse Practitioners 19.9%
- Family Medicine 17.5%
- Internal Medicine 13.6%
- Dentists (general) 10.8%
- Physician Assistants 10.7%
- Urology 4.2%
- Emergency Medicine 3.6%
- Oral & Maxillofacial Surgeons 1.8%
- Dermatology 1.7%
- Pulmonology 1.7%
- General Practice 1.3%
- Podiatrists 1.2%
Share of Medicare prescriptions written by each specialty.
Drugs in this group
| Drug | Prescriptions |
|---|---|
| Amoxicillin | 7,890,233 |
| Azithromycin (Azasite, Zithromax) | 7,061,126 |
| Amoxicillin/Potassium Clav (Amoxicillin-Clavulanate Pot Er, Amoxicillin-Clavulanate Potass) | 5,742,091 |
| Cephalexin | 5,677,028 |
| Doxycycline Hyclate (Doxy 100, Targadox) | 5,176,266 |
| Ciprofloxacin Hcl (Ciloxan) | 3,328,754 |
| Sulfamethoxazole/Trimethoprim (Bactrim Ds, Sulfamethoxazole-Trimethoprim) | 3,030,404 |
| Nitrofurantoin Monohyd/M-Cryst (Macrobid, Nitrofurantoin Mono-Macro) | 2,972,015 |
| Cefdinir | 1,631,613 |
| Levofloxacin | 1,436,107 |
| Doxycycline Monohydrate (Doxycycline Ir-Dr, Oracea) | 1,285,524 |
| Clindamycin Hcl | 1,057,631 |
| Nitrofurantoin Macrocrystal (Nitrofurantoin) | 388,216 |
Drugs filled in fewer than 1,000 counties have no page of their own; their national totals are shown here.
Industry payments about this drug
Drug makers reported $42 in payments to clinicians that named this group of drugs in 2025 (meals, speaking, consulting and similar).
- Galderma Laboratories, L.P. $42
Source: CMS Open Payments, general payments (not research), program year 2025. A payment is not evidence of wrongdoing. Payments by doctor
Recalls and shortages
Not on the FDA drug shortage list.
31 recalls since 2020
- Sep 2025 · Acella Pharmaceuticals, LLC · Class II
Failed dissolution specifications: Stability testing found that the lot did not meet dissolution specifications. - Sep 2025 · The Harvard Drug Group LLC dba Major Pharmaceuticals and Rugby Laboratories · Class II
Presence of a Foreign Substance: A specific lot of auxiliary polyester coil, used in product packaging by manufacturer (Amneal Pharmaceuticals LLC) was detected with presence of a micro-organism. No micro-organism was detected on any tablets. - Aug 2025 · Northwind Pharmaceuticals LLC · Class II
Presence of a Foreign Substance: A specific lot of auxiliary polyester coil, used in product packaging by manufacturer (Amneal Pharmaceuticals LLC) was detected with presence of a micro-organism. No micro-organism was detected on any tablets. - Aug 2025 · Amneal Pharmaceuticals, LLC · Class II
Presence of a foreign substance.A specific lot of auxiliary polyester coil, used in product packaging was detected with presence of a micro-organism. No micro-organism was detected on any tablets. - Jun 2025 · Amneal Pharmaceuticals, LLC · Class I
Microbial contamination of non-sterile products: tablets may exhibit black spots due to microbial contamination. - Mar 2025 · Glenmark Pharmaceuticals Inc., USA · Class II
CGMP Deviations - Jul 2024 · Sun Pharmaceutical Industries Inc · Class II
Failed Dissolution Specifications - May 2024 · Bryant Ranch Prepack, Inc. · Class III
Labeling: Not Elsewhere Classified: Back Label states 'Each contains: cephalexin monohydrate, USP equivalent to 5g' instead of Each Bottle contains: cephalexin monohydrate, USP equivalent to 10g'
Recalls usually affect specific lots from one maker, not every version of a drug. Class I is the most serious; most drug recalls are Class II. FDA recalls (opens in a new tab)
Sources: CMS Medicare Part D Prescribers by Provider and Drug (2024; prescriptions include refills, and CMS hides counts under 11 per prescriber); U.S. Food and Drug Administration, openFDA (drug labels, NDC directory, enforcement reports, drug shortages); CMS Open Payments 2025; ClinicalTrials.gov. General information only, not medical advice; not yet reviewed by our medical reviewer.