Why physicians prescribe costly medicines?

New York: Does your doctor often prescribe costly, big brand medicines? The decision may have to do with his training. The kind of medicines (cheaper or costly) a doctor prescribes is influenced by the prescriptions made by senior physicians who supervised them during the training, says a study.

The results represent an opportunity for improvement in graduate medical education at a time when in India the government is emphasising on physicians prescribing generic medicines instead of brand names to make healthcare more affordable for the masses.

The study found that physicians-in-training are twice as likely to order a costly brand-name statin (used to lower blood cholesterol levels) when supervised by senior physicians who prefer those medications in their own practice.