ABSTRACT
Prescribed medicine is the most common form of medical intervention, accountingfor almost 15 per cent of all health expenditure. Medicine use is also rising: theaverage person in England received 13.1 prescription items in 2003, a 40 per cent increase over the previous decade (Department of Health, 2003). Medical advances mean that diseases previously regarded as terminal, such as AIDS and some cancers, are becoming long-term conditions needing long-term treatment. Getting the most out of medicines is vital for maximizing therapeutic benefit and public health.
