U.K. doctors writing more prescriptions

LONDON, April 2 (UPI) -- Doctors in the United Kingdom are writing 886 million prescriptions annually at a cost of more than $13.7 billion, officials said.

The National Health Service compiled the numbers, renewing concerns that doctors are passing out drugs to people who don't really need them, potentially damaging their health and wasting public money, The Daily Telegraph reported.

However, the medical community said the population is getting older and new treatments are being developed to control chronic conditions, increasing the number of prescriptions.

"It is worrying that there has been such a large increase in the number of drugs being prescribed to patients," said Celia Grandison-Markey, interim chairman of the Patients Association. "Drugs are not always the answer and besides it being potentially dangerous to take medicines that are not needed, over-prescription of drugs can lead to an increase in antibiotic resistant bacteria such as MRSA."

The latest U.K. numbers emerged as Scotland became the largest country to provide medication to patients free of charge. Patients in England pay about $15 per prescription.

General practitioners write most of the prescriptions.

A Department of Health official said, "It is up to individual clinicians to decide what treatment is most appropriate for their patient, and increased prescribing does not necessarily indicate over-prescribing."