Over-the-counter drugs and prescribing in general practice.

BACKGROUND Both the government and the pharmaceutical industry are interested in increasing the use of over-the-counter (OTC) medicines. The reaction on the part of general practitioners is more circumspect. AIM To investigate whether fundholding or dispensing status and patient exemption from, or prepayment of prescription charges influence the behaviour of general practitioners with respect to prescribing preparations otherwise available OTC. METHOD Regression analysis of data for all 105 Lincolnshire practices for the fiscal year 1993-94, using the number of items prescribed by the practice that were also available OTC as the outcome variable. Comparison of Audit Commission Thematic Analysis of Prescribing (ACTAP) data for fundholders' and non-fundholders' OTC prescribing in the same year. RESULTS The prescription of medicines otherwise available OTC is less likely when the practice is fundholding and more likely when the practice has dispensing status. Prescription of such medicines also increases as the proportion of patients exempt from, or having prepaid prescription charges increases.