title: The effect of doctor ethnicity and country of qualification on prescribing patterns: an ecological study.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To assess the effect of doctor ethnicity and country of qualification on prescribing patterns.
  
  
  METHODS
  Ecological study.
  
  
  METHODS
  90 Family Health Services Authorities in the U.K.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Being an Asian doctor and qualifying from the Indian subcontinent contributes to 5% of the observed variation seen in the frequency of prescribing, but not the cost. The major determinant of variation in prescribing is deprivation, which accounts for 14% of the cost and 32% of the frequency of prescribing.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Being an Asian doctor and qualifying from the Indian subcontinent contributes to the frequency, but not the cost of prescribing variation. As this study was at the FHSA level, 'ecological fallacy' exists and further research is advocated at the individual doctor level.
authors.affiliation: Centre for Research in Primary Care, University of Leeds, UK.
authors.forename: P S
authors.initials: PS
authors.lastname: Gill
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Dowell
authors.forename: C M
authors.initials: CM
authors.lastname: Harris
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001208:Asia / Q000208:ethnology; D016527:Drug Costs / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D011307:Drug Prescriptions / Q000191:economics; D005006:Ethnicity; D005260:Female; D005550:Foreign Medical Graduates; D006801:Humans; D007194:India / Q000208:ethnology; D008297:Male; D010820:Physicians; D010818:Practice Patterns, Physicians' / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D012923:Social Class