PATIENT DEMAND FOR PRESCRIPTIONS - A VIEW FROM THE OTHER SIDE

This paper describes patients' ideas about doctors' prescribing habits , their expectations for prescriptions and their self-reported behavio ur in cashing prescriptions. It is based on semistructured interviews with 30 adult patients from two general practices. Views about doctors ' prescribing habits ranged from those wanting more help with their sy mptoms saying that doctors underprescribe to those aware of doctors' p ressure of work saying that they overprescribe. The desire for a presc ription in a consultation can be related to the stage of the illness a t which a patient consults; not all patients wanted a prescription or collected it if they received one. It is suggested that in appropriate cases, doctors could ask patients directly if they were expecting a p rescription.