Drugs and Family Medicine: Form and Content

Abstract

17 Prescription of drugs is currently the main tool of family medicine (FM) and that’s the main source of prescription of drugs. More than 75 percent of all visits to family physicians/general practitioners (GPs) result in the prescription of at least one medication [1]. The drugs are used by GPs to manage a wide range of health problems that are addressed at this level of medical care: bacterial infections, chronic diseases such as diabetes, hypertension, coronary heart disease, bronchial asthma, COPD, depression/anxiety, etc, as well as other daily needs such as contraception. On the other hand, innovative pharmacological therapies, such as new treatments for cancer, HIV/AIDS, vaccines or hepatitis C, also are directly or indirectly used by GPs. All of these drugs have tangible results: in some cases, they manage to eradicate a disease, and in others, to control it better, increase hope life or reduce the side effects of previous therapies.