[Factors associated with drug prescription].

The ascertainment of the factors that directly or indirectly influence the prescription of medication is a starting point to set up different strategies focused on the improvement of the utilization of medications. The purpose of this work is to assess which factors, closely related with physicians, with the population they cover, as well as with the health care infrastructure of our "Area of Management" (health district), are significantly associated with the prescription of medication, as well as to ascertain if there is, in our environment, a defined profile of those physicians having higher prescription rates. Using the Institut Català de la Salut (ICS) database, and through with the use linear multiple regression, it can be shown that: a) the expense due to medications is higher in those sectors having a larger number of physicians per 1,000 inhabitants; and b) a profile of large prescriptions cannot be established based on the variables selected in this study.