An analysis of prescribing patterns amongst physicians in a university health service

Patterns of drug prescribing were studied in a university health service for 2 annual periods. For each period, prescriptions were issued at a rate of approximately one for every 3 outpatient visits. Antibiotics accounted for one third of all prescriptions filled at the clinic pharmacy; cold and cough preparations accounted for one fourth. No other category of drugs accounted for more than 10% of the total. Despite the relatively homogeneous population of both patients and physicians, there was great variation in the number of prescriptions written by individual staff physicians. The study confirms recent reports of the high rate of antibiotic prescribing in American communities. Similar studies are suggested both as a method for peer review and as an approach to gaining further insight into the determinants of physician prescribing habits.