Antibiotic prescribing by single handed general practitioners: secondary analysis of data.
OBJECTIVE
To determine the contribution of various doctor and patient factors on the frequency of antibiotic prescribing.


METHODS
Secondary analyses of data on 155 single handed general practitioners.


RESULTS
Three variables explained 25% of variation in antibiotic prescribing. Doctors qualified from the Indian subcontinent issued more antibiotics than U.K.-qualified doctors. Patients from the non-manual social class were issued fewer antibiotics than those from the manual class and the most deprived patients received significantly more antibiotics.


CONCLUSIONS
Very little of prescribing of antibiotics by doctors is explained by these doctor-patient factors. Prescribing is a complex process and the search for factors must continue in order to address the rising antibiotic resistance.
Gill
P S
PS
Department of Primary Care and General Practice, University of Birmingham, Edgbaston, Birmingham B15 2TT, U.K. p.s.gill@bham.ac.uk
Roalfe
A
A
D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D011307:Drug Prescriptions / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D005006:Ethnicity; D005194:Family Practice / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D005550:Foreign Medical Graduates; D019538:Health Care Surveys; D006801:Humans; D007194:India / Q000208:ethnology; D010818:Practice Patterns, Physicians' / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D012923:Social Class; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D006113:United Kingdom
D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents