Identification and costs of prescriber-defined repeat prescribing

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Abstract
The use of different definitions of repeat prescribing has, understandably, resulted in different published values of both numbers of prescriptions and their costs. One possible way of determining the number of repeat prescriptions would be to allow prescribers to self-identify prescriptions at source. However, the cost of repeat prescription items only becomes a tangible cost if, and when, the patient has the prescription dispensed. The aim of this work was to allow prescribers from six general practices in one family health services authority to self-identify repeat prescriptions. Only those prescriptions presented for dispensing were analysed and costed. Out of a total of nearly 54,000 prescription items, 29.4 per cent were identified as repeats; they accounted for 32.2 per cent of the total cost of the prescriptions. Overall, the average cost of repeat prescription items was higher than that for new prescription items. The approach used in this work is a novel method of identifying, quantifying and determining the extent and costs of repeat prescribing in a study population. The limitations of the method are discussed.

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