ArticleBMC health services research2014
The scale of repeat prescribing--time for an update.
Article in BMC health services research, 2014. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 15 papers.
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
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Who cites it
15 citing papers in PubMed.
- Nurse-led hypertension management was well accepted and non-inferior to physician consultation in a Chinese population: a randomized controlled trial.Scientific reports · 2018Trial
- Disrupted specialist outpatient services and alternative modes of service for patients with diabetes mellitus: A population-based, retrospective cohort study in Hong Kong.Diabetes, obesity & metabolism · 2025Article
- The impact of COVID-19 on electronic repeat dispensing (eRD) in general practice.Journal of pharmaceutical policy and practice · 2023Article
- Comparison of primary care prescriptions for old and very old hypertensive patients.Turkish journal of medical sciences · 2023Article
- Angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors and risk of age-related macular degeneration in individuals with hypertension.British journal of clinical pharmacology · 2022Article
- Evaluation and pharmacists perspective of repeat prescribing process in refill clinics.Saudi pharmaceutical journal : SPJ : the official publication of the Saudi Pharmaceutical Society · 2021Article
- Public Attitudes towards Medicinal Waste and Medicines Reuse in a 'Free Prescription' Healthcare System.Pharmacy (Basel, Switzerland) · 2021Article
- On the frontline against COVID-19: Community pharmacists' contribution during a public health crisis.Research in social & administrative pharmacy : RSAP · 2021Article
- Prevalence of potentially inappropriate prescribing in older people in primary care and its association with hospital admission: longitudinal study.BMJ (Clinical research ed.) · 2018Article
- Application of prescribing recommendations in older people with reduced kidney function: a cross-sectional study in general practice.The British journal of general practice : the journal of the Royal College of General Practitioners · 2018Article
- Long-term benzodiazepine use in patients taking antidepressants in a public health setting in Brazil: a cross-sectional study.BMJ open · 2018Article
- Variation of polypharmacy in older primary care attenders occurs at prescriber level.BMC geriatrics · 2018Article
- Repeat prescribing of medications: A system-centred risk management model for primary care organisations.Journal of evaluation in clinical practice · 2017Article
- Patient-centred improvement to repeat prescribing using the Always Event concept.BMJ open quality · 2017Article
- Potentially inappropriate medications at admission among elderly patients transported to a tertiary emergency medical institution in Japan.Acute medicine & surgeryArticle
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
3 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundThe NHS spends billions of pounds annually on repeat prescriptions in primary care, but data on their extent and use is out of date. Understanding the scale of repeat prescribing and for whom it is prescribed is important for the NHS to plan services and develop policies to improve patient care.
methodAnonymous data on prescription numbers and practice population demographics was obtained from GP computer systems in a large urban area.Searches were conducted in November 2011 to identify the numbers of repeat items listed on individuals' repeat lists by sex and age.The proportion of all prescription items issued as repeats was identified by conducting searches on items issued as repeat and acute prescriptions.
resultsIn the year of study 4,453,225 items were issued of which 3,444,769 (77%) were repeats (mean 13 items per patient/annum) and 1,008,456 (23%) acute prescriptions (mean 3.9 items per patient per annum). The mean number of repeat Items per patient was 1.87 (range 0.45 ages 0-9 years; 7.1 ages 80-89 years). At least one repeat medicine was prescribed to 43% of the population (range 20% for ages 0-9; over 75% for ages 60+).
conclusionA significant proportion of the population receive repeat prescriptions and the proportion increases with age. Whilst the proportion of repeat items to acute items has remained unchanged over the last two decades the number of repeat prescriptions items issued has doubled (from 5.8 to 13.3 items/patient/annum). This has implications for general practice workload, patient convenience, NHS costs and risk.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.