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Trends in Prescribing Psychotropic Medications
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| Since this article does not have an abstract, we have provided the first 150 words of the full text and any section headings. |
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To the Editor.— In recent years, psychotropic drugs, particularly fluoxetine hydrochloride, have appeared most often on the list of prescriptions filled and prescription expenses in many delivery systems.1 The article on prescribing trends in psychotropic medications by Dr Pincus and colleagues,2 however, leaves many questions unanswered. We agree that the patterns of psychotropic medication use in outpatient medical practice changed dramatically during the study period, and the increase of stimulant drug visits over that period is also striking—especially for nonpsychiatrists. However, we have several questions concerning risk adjustment and assessment of impact.
Are patients who see psychiatrists sicker and, therefore, more likely to receive prescription drugs? Are patients who see generalists exhibiting poorer outcomes because they are denied prescriptions for antidepressants? Are patients who see generalists being overprescribed stimulants? Could this apparent disparity in stimulant prescription be attributable to sample bias with an underrepresentation of child and adolescent psychiatrists? Is . . . [Full Text of this Article]
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