Am J Psychiatry 1975; 132:1309-1312
Copyright © 1975 by American Psychiatric Association
Inpatient and outpatient patterns of psychotropic drug prescribing by nonpsychiatrist physicians
D Raft, J Davidson, TC Toomey, RF Spencer and BF Lewis
The authors found that among 228 general hospital patients, minor
tranquilizers were prescribed most often and with the least justification
and that major tranquilizers were prescribed sparingly and by and large
judiciously. Antidepressants were given less often than would be justified
by the incidence of depressive illness among these patients. Nonrecognition
of depression in patients with somatic complaints and autonomic signs of
depression contributed to this lack of treatment.
