Pharmaceutical interventions are addressed by a number of papers in this month's issue of the journal. Drug therapy is the major intervention offered by the NHS to enhance and sustain the health of the population. Medicines cost the NHS in excess of £10 billion annually, with the total cost and number of prescriptions steadily rising; the majority of prescribing occurs in general practice. Given this investment, together with the shift of chronic disease management to primary care, GPs need to ensure their prescribing is effective in maximising health gains while minimising risks to patients.
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