Repeat prescriptions.

Ninety-six general practitioner recorders undertook an average of 308 consultations in the two weeks reviewed, equivalent to 121 consultations per 1,000 registered patients on the list. The number of patients to whom repeat prescriptions were issued was 10,225.The mean rate of issue of repeat prescriptions was 41.9 per 1,000 list, (346 per 1,000 consultations) though these figures conceal a wide variation between the recorders, 41 per cent of recipients were aged 65+ years and 20 per cent had not been seen by their doctor in the six months prior to receipt. The repeat prescribing rate of individual doctors bears no relation to the workload as measured by the number of consultations undertaken.