The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality release a report stating that between 2002 and 2005 the number of prescriptions filled for antidepressants rose 16 million.
The increase from 154 million to 170 million, which does not include refills, breaks down as follows:
29% of the prescriptions were written by psychiatrists (medical practitioners who specialize in the treatment of mental illness)- 23% were written by general practitioners (doctors who provide primary care but are trained in a specialty.
- 21% were written by family doctors (doctors who provide primary care who have completed a residency in family medicine)
- 10% were written by internal medicine specialists (doctors who complete a residency in internal medicine and who specialize in the diagnosis and non-surgical treatment of adults with illnesses that are hard to diagnose or manage.
The study included only prescriptions written in an outpatient setting. Prescriptions that were administered in an inpatient setting or in a clinic or medical doctor's office were not included in the analysis.
[Source: PharmaLot and Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality
doctors who complete a residency in internal medicine and who specialize in the diagnosis and non-surgical treatment of adults with illnesses that are hard to diagnose or manage.
Posted by: 花蓮 | January 11, 2009 3:01 AM | Permalink to Comment