 Overseas general practitioners (GPs) and opioid prescriptions in EnglandJoan E. Madia, Catia Nicodemo, Cristina E. Orso and Cristina Tealdi Health Policy, 2025, vol. 159, issue C Abstract: The substantial recent rise in opioid prescription rates, along with increasing evidence of misuse and associated morbidity and mortality, raises serious concerns about the appropri- ateness of these drugs for pain management. This study investigates prescription behaviour differences across opioid drug categories between UK-trained and overseas-trained GPs. Us- ing panel data covering all English practices from 2018 to 2021, we find a strong association between practices with more overseas GPs and opioid prescription patterns. Regional dif- ferences emerge, with GPs from North America prescribing more opioids and those from Africa and Asia prescribing less, relative to the UK-trained counterparts. Heterogeneous cultural norms, different training environments, and varying epidemiological patterns might explain these different prescribing behaviours. Comprehensive cross-country assessments of GP competencies could identify areas for targeted training, helping to align the practices of foreign-trained GPs with UK standards while supporting the attraction of global talent. Keywords: GPs; Immigration; Prescriptions; NHS England (search for similar items in EconPapers) Downloads: (external link) Related works: Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:hepoli:v:159:y:2025:i:c:s0168851025001186 DOI: 10.1016/j.healthpol.2025.105362 Access Statistics for this article Health Policy is currently edited by Katrien Kesteloot, Mia Defever and Irina Cleemput More articles in Health Policy from Elsevier |
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