How much of a general practitioner's prescribing is outside his/her control?
OBJECTIVE
To analyse and quantify that portion of one General Practioner's prescribing that is outside his/her control.


METHODS
Detailed analysis of one General Practioner's General Medical Services prescribing over a three month period during 1996.


METHODS
A Group Practice in Sligo, Ireland.


METHODS
The number and cost of items outside the General Practitioner's control expressed as a percentage of his total General Medical Services prescribing. The source of these items, and whether they are newly prescribed items or not.


RESULTS
12.8% numerically and 23.8%, costwise, of items prescribed by one GMS General Practitioner were found to be outside his control. Of these items, psychiatric outpatient consultations and medical in-patient discharges account for 22.8% and 18.4% numerically, respectively, and 25.7% and 22.6% costwise, respectively of the total numbers of items and costs outside his control.


CONCLUSIONS
A relatively small proportion of items of a General Practitioners prescribing accounting for a disproportionately large amount of the costs are outside his control.
Quinn
R
R
Department of Community Health and General Practice Dublin, Trinity College Dublin.
Kelly
A
A
D016527:Drug Costs; D011307:Drug Prescriptions / Q000191:economics*; D005194:Family Practice; D006801:Humans; D010821:Physicians, Family