Prescribing costs. Braking point

A joint hospital, health authority and PCG initiative to improve prescribing has produced significant savings in the PCG involved. The venture included the appointment of a medicines management pharmacist to work with practices, and a survey to ascertain GPs' prescribing needs. GPs considered the most important issues to be developing local disease management guidelines, education and repeat prescribing. Guidelines on dyspepsia management have resulted in a 4.9 per cent reduction in the cost of prescribing gastrointestinal drugs. Antibiotic prescribing has also fallen.