In a related editorial, authors discuss what we should do when patients are given a prescription for a fixed duration of therapy and their symptoms resolve before they complete the course. “Here we need to change the dogma: patients should no longer be told to keep taking the antibiotic. Patients should be told that if their symptoms resolve before completing the antibiotic they should communicate with their physician to determine if they can stop therapy early. Healthcare professionals should be encouraged to allow patients to stop antibiotic treatment as early as possible on resolution of symptoms of infection”.