Overseas general practitioners (GPs) and opioid prescriptions in England

IF 3.4 3区医学 Q1 HEALTH CARE SCIENCES & SERVICES

Health Policy Pub Date : 2025-05-23 DOI:10.1016/j.healthpol.2025.105362

Joan E. Madia , Catia Nicodemo , Cristina E. Orso , Cristina Tealdi

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引用次数: 0

Abstract

The substantial recent rise in opioid prescription rates, along with increasing evidence of misuse and associated morbidity and mortality, raises serious concerns about the appropri- ateness of these drugs for pain management. This study investigates prescription behaviour differences across opioid drug categories between UK-trained and overseas-trained GPs. Us- ing panel data covering all English practices from 2018 to 2021, we find a strong association between practices with more overseas GPs and opioid prescription patterns. Regional dif- ferences emerge, with GPs from North America prescribing more opioids and those from Africa and Asia prescribing less, relative to the UK-trained counterparts. Heterogeneous cultural norms, different training environments, and varying epidemiological patterns might explain these different prescribing behaviours. Comprehensive cross-country assessments of GP competencies could identify areas for targeted training, helping to align the practices of foreign-trained GPs with UK standards while supporting the attraction of global talent.

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海外全科医生（gp）和阿片类药物处方在英国

最近阿片类药物处方率的大幅上升，以及越来越多的滥用和相关发病率和死亡率的证据，引起了对这些药物用于疼痛管理的适当性的严重关切。本研究调查了在英国培训和海外培训的全科医生在阿片类药物类别上的处方行为差异。我们使用了涵盖2018年至2021年所有英国实践的面板数据，发现更多海外全科医生的实践与阿片类药物处方模式之间存在强烈关联。地区差异出现了，与英国培训的同行相比，来自北美的全科医生开的阿片类药物更多，而来自非洲和亚洲的全科医生开的阿片类药物较少。不同的文化规范、不同的培训环境和不同的流行病学模式可能解释这些不同的处方行为。对全科医生能力进行全面的跨国评估，可以确定有针对性的培训领域，有助于使外国培训的全科医生的做法与英国标准保持一致，同时支持吸引全球人才。

本文章由计算机程序翻译，如有差异，请以英文原文为准。

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来源期刊

Health Policy 医学-卫生保健

CiteScore

6.40

自引率

6.10%

发文量

157

审稿时长

3-8 weeks

期刊介绍： Health Policy is intended to be a vehicle for the exploration and discussion of health policy and health system issues and is aimed in particular at enhancing communication between health policy and system researchers, legislators, decision-makers and professionals concerned with developing, implementing, and analysing health policy, health systems and health care reforms, primarily in high-income countries outside the U.S.A.