[Quantitative pharmaceutical indicators and reform: do they change when there are no staff changes?]

The evolution of three quantitative pharmaceutical indicators before and after the reformation was implemented in three ABS from Girona and in the rest of the province with non-reformed system of care was evaluated. The three investigated ABS, after a period of reformation with similar characteristics, showed a quite different evolution of their pharmaceutical indicators. The comparison of the increments of the indicators among the different centers did not show significant differences in the years preceding the reformation. The differences appeared when the comparison was made after the reformation: amount/prescription (p less than 0.01), amount/inhabitant (p = 0.01), and number of prescriptions/inhabitant (p = 0.01). The three ABS contributed to these differences in a different sense and in unequal degrees. The study did not address the quality of prescription. However, it showed its varied evolution after the reformation, as shown by the three evaluated indicators. Factors other than the characteristics of the system where health care is included appear to have greater importance in the short run.