How health managers see prescribing

An understanding of the patterns of GP prescribing is important to those who play a role in the management of healthcare budgets. This paper analyses the contrasts and overlaps between the perceptions of healthcare managers and actual prescribing behaviour. While there are aspects of prescribing behaviour which are well understood, there are a number of areas where perceptions differ markedly from the patterns found in practice. The managerial implications of these differences are discussed.