Overseas general practitioners (GPs) and prescription behaviour in England

Catia Nicodemo; Cristina E Orso; Cristina Tealdi

doi:10.1016/j.healthpol.2023.104967

Overseas general practitioners (GPs) and prescription behaviour in England

Health Policy. 2024 Feb:140:104967. doi: 10.1016/j.healthpol.2023.104967. Epub 2023 Dec 19.

Authors

Catia Nicodemo¹, Cristina E Orso², Cristina Tealdi³

Affiliations

¹ Department of Primary Health Care, Medical School, Department of Primary Care, University of Oxford, Walton Street OX2 6GG, Oxford, UK; Department of Economics, University of Verona, Via Cantarane 24, Verona 03678, Italy. Electronic address: catia.nicodemo@economics.ox.ac.uk.
² Department of Law, Economics, and Cultures, University of Insubria, Italy.
³ Edinburgh Business School, IZA Institute of Labor, Heriot-Watt University, Edinburgh EH14 4AS, UK.

PMID: 38142570
DOI: 10.1016/j.healthpol.2023.104967

Abstract

The UK imports many doctors from abroad, where medical training and experience may differ. This study aims to understand how drug prescription behaviour varies in English GP practices with higher shares of foreign-trained GPs. Results indicate that in general prac- tices with a high proportion of GPs trained outside the UK, there are higher prescriptions for antibiotics, mental health medication, analgesics, antacids, and statins, while controlling for patient and practice characteristics. However, we found no significant impact on pa- tient satisfaction or unplanned hospitalisations, suggesting that this behaviour may be due to over-prescribing. Identifying differences in prescribing habits amongst GPs is crucial in deter- mining best policies for ensuring consistent services across GP practices and reducing health inequalities.

Keywords: GPs; Immigration; NHS England; Prescriptions.

MeSH terms

Drug Prescriptions
England
General Practitioners* / psychology
Humans
Practice Patterns, Physicians'