Social prescribing

Social prescribing (also known as community referral) is when doctors prescribe something for a person which is not a drug. They are most likely to do this if the persons problems are more social than medical. [1] The idea has caught on in the National Health Service, in Ireland[2] and the Netherlands[3]

All sorts of things can be prescribed in this way. Most common is to help them join a local social group. In London in 2022 general practitioners started prescribing fruit and vegetables to test if that helped people. [4]

References

  1. Bickerdike L, Booth A, Wilson PM, Farley K, Wright K (13 December 2016). "Social prescribing: less rhetoric and more reality. A systematic review of the evidence". BMJ Open. 2017 (7): e013384. doi:10.1136/bmjopen-2016-013384. PMC 5558801. PMID 28389486.
  2. What is social prescribing and how it can benefit your health. Irish Times. 9 April 2019. https://www.irishtimes.com/life-and-style/health-family/what-is-social-prescribing-and-how-it-can-benefit-your-health-1.3840354. Retrieved 7 May 2019. 
  3. Community activity as a path to better health. Financial Times. 20 November 2018. https://www.ft.com/content/4e971172-d82e-11e8-aa22-36538487e3d0?emailId=5c4ede5258d4740004049132. Retrieved 17 March 2019. 
  4. Lind, Sofia (2022-11-11). "GPs in London start prescribing fruit and veg in £250k pilot". Pulse Today. Retrieved 2023-02-08.