Prescription-free consultation: A cross-sectional study in general practice

Purpose

In 2005, 10% of consultations in France ended without a prescription. In 2019, a review of the literature found 30 to 70% of prescription-free consultations in Northern Europe and 10 to 22% in Southern Europe and underlined the scarcity of quantitative data. Different factors contribute to this heterogeneity, such as product availability and status, modes of management, distribution channels, clinical practice recommendations, public policies targeting certain classes, etc. The main objective of our study was to quantify the rate of prescription-free consultations in general practice in France in 2021. The secondary objective was to characterize prescription-free consultations and analyze their determinants.

Methods

This was a quantitative observational study conducted using self-questionnaires among patients in medical practices in Auvergne.

Results

Out of 540 questionnaires, the rate of prescription-free consultations was 24% (95% CI [20.11–27.41]). Prescription-free consultations were for prevention, administrative problems, and gestures. The limiting factors are “feeling a need for a medication” (OR = 0,006), “not knowing if a medication is needed” (OR = 0.11) and “consultations for acute reasons” (OR = 0.33).

Conclusion

Acute consultations limit prescription-free consultations. General practitioners (GPs) probably overestimate patients’ expectation of drug prescription. The French GP must be supported in their decision to not prescribe drugs. This is a long-term investment of time, to educate patients and avoid new consultations for acute reasons. A tool to help doctors manage non-prescription during acute consultations will be created in a future study in France.