[Pharmaceutical expenditure in primary care according to the prescription source]. / Gasto farmacéutico en atención primaria según el origen de las prescripciones.

OBJECTIVE: To find the origin of primary care pharmaceutical prescription and where expenditure is attributed. DESIGN: A descriptive study of a prospective character. SETTING: Medical clinics of a primary care team at the Torre del Mar Health Centre, Málaga. MAIN RESULTS: A total of 2,580 prescriptions, whose average price was 1,415.4 pesetas, with a range from 135 to 35,889 pesetas, were issued. An average of 143.3 prescriptions a day were issued during the days analysed. The number of prescriptions issued by PC itself made up more than half the prescriptions, similar to the number of prescriptions originating elsewhere. The average price is greater for outside prescriptions than for prescriptions from within PC. Total accumulated cost was 3,651,912 pesetas. Expenditure on outside prescriptions was 1,774,783 pesetas, 48.59% of total cost. Total cost of prescriptions from within PC was 1,733,701 pesetas, 47.47% of the total. CONCLUSIONS: PC has been assigned the role of issuing most prescriptions in the health-care system. This causes various problems within PHC: 1) a major administrative overload; 2) a great imaginative effort to try to avoid bureaucratic burdens; and 3) a real ability to rationalise the offer of medicines using quality criteria of only about 50%, as the other 50% of medicines originates outside PHC. We believe an extension of the programmes to guarantee quality in specialist care is needed, particularly of those programmes relating to pharmaceutical prescription.

[Mental malaise in health professionals: an approach to its study]. / Malestar psíquico en profesionales de la salud: una aproximación a su estudio.

A study was made of the incidence of psychiatric malaise among health workers in the health area of La Axarquía, in the province of Málaga. Goldberg's General Health Questionnaire (GHQ, 28 items) was applied to the sample population (n = 137), and the differences obtained are discussed in relation to social and job-related variables. The occurrence of psychiatric malaise among the whole sample was 29.85%, with significant differences among those above the cutoff and place of work (hospital), sex (women), tobacco habit (smokers), and pleasantness of work situation (not pleasant). There were no significant differences among those above the cutoff and profession (although higher scores were recorded among administrative personnel), nor according to contractual situation (although higher scores were recorded among contracted staff). The study concludes with a series of measures aimed at early prevention and detection of symptoms of psychiatric maladjustment within the working environment.