ArticleBMJ open2017
Retrospective, multicohort analysis of the Clinical Practice Research Datalink (CPRD) to determine differences in the cost of medication wastage, dispensing fees and prescriber time of issuing either short (<60 days) or long (≥60 days) prescription lengths in primary care for common, chronic conditions in the UK.
Article in BMJ open, 2017. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 6 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
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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
6 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.
- Bisphosphonate alternative regimens for the prevention of osteoporotic fragility fractures: BLAST-OFF, a mixed-methods study.Health technology assessment (Winchester, England) · 2024Pooled it
- Impact of issuing longer- versus shorter-duration prescriptions: a systematic review.The British journal of general practice : the journal of the Royal College of General Practitioners · 2018Pooled it
- Dispensing practices issue shorter prescription lengths compared with non-dispensing practices: a quasi-experimental cross-sectional study.BJGP open · 2026Article
- Variation in duration of repeat prescriptions: a primary care cohort study in England.The British journal of general practice : the journal of the Royal College of General Practitioners · 2025Article
- Prescription and dispensing duration of medicines for hypertension and other chronic conditions: a review of international policies and evidence to inform the Australian setting.Hypertension research : official journal of the Japanese Society of Hypertension · 2024Review
- "Don't Let Medicines Go to Waste"-A Survey-Based Cross-Sectional Study of Pharmacists' Waste-Reducing Activities Across Gulf Cooperation Council Countries.Frontiers in pharmacology · 2020Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
4 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
objectivesTo investigate patterns of early repeat prescriptions and treatment switching over an 11-year period to estimate differences in the cost of medication wastage, dispensing fees and prescriber time for short (<60 days) and long (≥60 days) prescription lengths from the perspective of the National Health Service in the UK.
settingRetrospective, multiple cohort study of primary care prescriptions from the Clinical Practice Research Datalink.
participantsFive random samples of 50 000 patients each prescribed oral drugs for (1) glucose control in type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM); (2) hypertension in T2DM; (3) statins (lipid management) in T2DM; (4) secondary prevention of myocardial infarction; and (5) depression. PRIMARY AND SECONDARY OUTCOME MEASURES: The volume of medication wastage from early repeat prescriptions and three other types of treatment switches was quantified and costed. Dispensing fees and prescriber time were also determined. Total unnecessary costs (TUC; cost of medication wastage, dispensing fees and prescriber time) associated with <60 day and ≥60 day prescriptions, standardised to a 120-day period, were then compared.
resultsLonger prescription lengths were associated with more medication waste per prescription. However, when including dispensing fees and prescriber time, longer prescription lengths resulted in lower TUC. This finding was consistent across all five cohorts. Savings ranged from £8.38 to £12.06 per prescription per 120 days if a single long prescription was issued instead of multiple short prescriptions. Prescriber time costs accounted for the largest component of TUC.
conclusionsShorter prescription lengths could potentially reduce medication wastage, but they may also increase dispensing fees and/or the time burden of issuing prescriptions.
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