Comparison of prescribing habits of general practitioners in The Netherlands versus England and Wales

The alleged prescribing habits of 44 randomly chosen Dutch family doctors were compared with those of 59 family doctors from England and Wales by inference from their prescribing responses to 10 hypothetical patients presented in a mail survey. The response options were: (a) neither prescribing nor advising over-the-counter (OTC) medication; (b) advising OTC medication; or (c) prescribing medication. Although sample numbers were small, the sample appeared to be broadly representative of GPs in each country. There were significant differences in stated treatment habits between doctors of the 2 countries, especially with regard to treatment of sore throat, temporal arteritis, epigastric pain, travellers' diarrhoea and polyarthralgia. The results suggest substantial differences in management of common general practice problems exist between England/Wales and The Netherlands, despite their similar healthcare systems. These differences point to the need for rationalisation of management through improved education and audit.