Separation of prescribing and dispensing

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Separation of prescribing and dispensing, also called dispensing separation, is a practice in medicine and pharmacy in which the physician who provides a medical prescription is independent from the pharmacist who provides the prescription drug.

In the Western world there are centuries of tradition for separating pharmacists from physicians. However in Asian countries it is traditional for physicians to also provide drugs.

Contemporary research indicates that separation of prescribing and dispensing lowers expenditure on drugs,[1][2] because physician-prescribing gives doctors an incentive to over-prescribe. This is an example of a conflict of interest in the healthcare industry leading to unnecessary health care.

  1. ^ Stacherl, Barbara; Renner, Anna-Theresa; Weber, Daniela (1 March 2023). "Financial incentives and antibiotic prescribing patterns: Evidence from dispensing physicians in a public healthcare system". Social Science & Medicine. 321. doi:10.1016/j.socscimed.2023.115791. PMID 36841224.
  2. ^ Müller, Tobias; Schmid, Christian; Gerfin, Michael (1 January 2023). "Rents for Pills: Financial incentives and physician behavior". Journal of Health Economics. 87: 102711. doi:10.1016/j.jhealeco.2022.102711. hdl:10419/264037. PMID 36563502.
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