General practitioner prescribing habits in asthma/COPD

Objective:

To evaluate the economic implications of prescribing for asthma/COPD.

Design:

Analysis of computerised prescribing records over a six month period.

Setting:

Nine general practices in the UK.

Subjects:

Two hundred and twenty seven patients diagnosed as ‘asthma’, 193 patients diagnosed as ‘COPD’, all of whom were most likely to have COPD.

Results:

Prescribing costs were £51,920. Inhaled corticosteroids had been prescribed for 81% of patients; reducing this to 20% would generate savings of £21,834.

Conclusion:

The use of COPD guidelines in general practice may release savings to improve accuracy of diagnosis, treatment and clinical outcomes.