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Psychiatrists' attitudes to maintenance drug treatment in depression

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 January 2018

Graham A. Jackson  and
Ishbel Maciver
Graham A. Jackson*
Affiliation:
Hairmyres Hospital, Eaglesham Road, East Kilbride, Lanarkshire
Ishbel Maciver
Affiliation:
Douglas Inch Centre, 3 Woodside Terrace, Glasgow
*
∗Correspondence
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Abstract

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Aims and method

The recurrence rate of major depression can be decreased by the use of maintenance drug treatment. This paper describes a survey of Scottish psychiatrists' attitudes to prescribing maintenance therapy. Questionnaires were sent to all Scottish psychiatrists at consultant and associate specialist grade.

Results

It is evident that there are major differences in prescribing practices. How patients are managed would appear to depend on to whom they are referred.

Clinical implications

Psychiatrists do not appear to be practising evidence-based medicine in this context. There is perhaps a need for greater consensus on the prevention of recurrence.

Type
Original papers
Information
Psychiatric Bulletin , Volume 23 , Issue 2 , February 1999 , pp. 74 - 77
Creative Commons
Creative Common License - CCCreative Common License - BY
This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC-BY) license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted re-use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
Copyright
Copyright © 1999 The Royal College of Psychiatrists

References

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