NHS Western Isles prescribing weight loss drugs at triple the rate of other health boards

The report also looked at access to certain medicines prescribed to patients with cardiovascular disease.

Cardiovascular disease, which includes conditions such as heart disease or stroke, is a leading cause of death and affects around 800,000 people in Scotland.

The study looked at prescribing data for non-statin low-density lipoprotein (LDL)-lowering medicines accepted by the SMC.

Prescribing rates differed eight-to-10-fold between the highest-prescribing (Highland) and lowest-prescribing (Forth Valley) boards.

Authors say health boards with closer links between specialists and GPs generally recorded higher prescribing.

The ABPI made seven recommendations, including better planning and co-operation alongside more transparency by health boards about decisions on what medicines to use locally, and how quickly accepted medicines are being introduced.