title: Drug use variations.
abstract: Medications play a large part in today's health-care delivery. Indeed, it is this centrality to health care that has fuelled various debates about the cost and benefits of different drugs, especially expensive medicines associated with cancer treatments and multiple sclerosis (MS). Undoubtedly, medications have been responsible for improved patient outcomes for treatable conditions, however, funding of medications can impact upon the available resources for other health services. In an attempt to understand medication usage in the UK, Professor Sir Mike Richards (Department of Health, 2010) examined the extent and potential causes of international variations in medication usage. The data revealed considerable variation both between countries and within countries regarding the treatment of different diseases.
authors.affiliation: King's College London, Florence Nightingale School of Nursing and Midwifery.
authors.forename: Alison
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: While
mesh_terms: D016527:Drug Costs / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D004363:Drug Utilization / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D014943:Global Health; D019538:Health Care Surveys; D006801:Humans; D010818:Practice Patterns, Physicians' / Q000458:organization & administration*; D006113:United Kingdom