Are We Prescribing Only What Is Needed?

Modern medicine has undergone a sea change. This change is just not limited to newer diagnostic aids, newer drugs, newer approaches to treatment modalities but also invaded the prescription which have become voluminous in terms of number of drugs advised. Are they subject to some form of scrutiny? It is not that all of them are illogical or they do not have scientific literature to back their claim, but do we need drugs with marginal benefits? There is real situation wherein patients tend to consume this at the expense of core drugs. This becomes an important issue in a country like ours where resource based medicine takes precedence. My objective would be served if it provokes thinking on these lines.