title: Medicines without an NHS prescription.
abstract: In the UK last year approximately 4.25 billion pounds was spent on medicines. About 80% of this went on prescribed drugs provided on the NHS. The remainder was spent on medicines prescribed privately and those bought over the counter (OTC) without prescription. In this article we consider OTC medicines and discuss how doctors can advise patients about the 500 or so products that cost less than the prescription charge (currently 4.25 pounds per item).
mesh_terms: D006801:Humans; D009313:National Health Programs; D004366:Nonprescription Drugs / Q000191:economics / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D012651:Self Medication; D006113:United Kingdom
chemical_list: D004366:Nonprescription Drugs