Prescribing cost savings by GP fundholders: long-term or short-term?

Fundholding general practices have been observed to be more successful than non-fundholders in controlling the growth of their prescribing costs. Debate persists over the likely duration of this fundholding effect. Regression analysis of changes in prescribing costs for a large sample of practices over 5 years supports the view that prescribing cost economies have been short-rather than long-term, and that practices entering fundholding did not engage in strategic, cost-raising behaviour prior to joining the scheme.