Physician prescribing habits, including over-prescribing and inappropriate prescribing, were discussed at the Toronto conference, which was organized by Dr. Michael Rachlis, a health policy analyst. Topics included initiatives to improve prescribing and contain escalating drug costs. Although spending in sectors such as hospitals is declining, drug-related expenditures continue to grow. Several conference participants said prescribing habits are most easily improved by initiatives at the local level, but they admitted that barriers exist, such as a lack of incentives for physicians to change. We'll come to them privately.
People are more relaxed, freer to ask questions than they are, for example, during grand rounds.
The project began after officials noted that the costs of BC's Pharmacare program were rising much faster than other financial indicators, such as overall government spending, incomes or inflation. A key reason for the cost increases was a shift in prescribing behaviour, with doctors prescribing newer, more costly and heavily promoted versions of an established drug. But this is not necessarily the case when you look at it critically. But when relative cost and effectiveness are discussed, the physicians often change to a less expensive medication. The Lions Gate Hospital project, launched in 1993, built on relationships with local doctors to generate savings to the Pharmacare program in 2 ways.