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ARTICLE |

Benzodiazepine Prescribing in a Family Medicine Center FREE

Jeffrey D. Hasday, MD; Fred E. Karch, MD
[+] Author Affiliations

Reprint requests to Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology, University of Rochester Medical Center, 601 Elmwood Ave, Rochester, NY 14642 (Dr Karch).


JAMA. 1981;246(12):1321-1325. doi:10.1001/jama.1981.03320120025020
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We monitored benzodiazepine prescribing in a family medicine center for two years. A total of 1,886 prescriptions were written for four benzodiazepines in the following order of frequency: diazepam, chlordiazepoxide, oxazepam, clorazepate. The most frequent diagnostic indications were anxiety neurosis, hysterical neurosis, and vertebral column disorders. Most benzodiazepine recipients were women, but for alcohol abuse more prescriptions were written for men. More than half of the patients were between the ages of 25 and 44 years. Although daily doses were reduced for elderly patients, the course of therapy was often longer. Female physicians wrote fewer prescriptions for men than for women. More prescriptions for benzodiazepines were written during the summer months than during the rest of the year, and more were written on weekdays than on the weekend. Benzodiazepine recipients were given more prescriptions for other drugs than were the rest of the patients in the practice.

(JAMA 1981;246:1321-1325)

REFERENCES

Boethius G, Westerholm B:  Is the use of hypnotics, sedatives and minor tranquilizers really a major health problem? Acta Med Scand 1976;;199:507-512.
Blackwell E:  Psychotropic drugs in use today . JAMA 1973;;225:1637-1641.
Baiter MB, Levine J, Manheimer DI:  Cross-national study of the extent of anti-anxiety/ sedative drug use . N Engl J Med 1974;;290:769-774.
Mellinger GD, Balter MB, Manheimer DI:  Patterns of psychotherapeutic drug use among adults in San Francisco . Arch Gen Psychiatry 1971;;25:385-394.
Wilcox JB:  Psychotherapeutic prescribing patterns in general practice . NZ Med J 1977;; 85:363-366.
Carmody J, Boyle R, Butler P, et al:  Patterns of the use of benzodiazepines in Australia . Med J Aust 1977;;2:666-668.
Ezzati T, McLemore T: 1977 Summary: National Ambulatory Medical Care Survey . Advanced data from Vital Health and Statistics of the National Center for Health Statistics, No. 48:1-8, US Dept of Health, Education, and Welfare publication No. (PHS) 79-1250, 1977;.
Baiter MB, Levine J:  The nature and extent of psychotropic drug usage in the United States . Psychopharmacol Bull 1969;;5:3-13.
Karch FE, Becker LA:  Drug prescribing in primary care . J Fam Pract , to be published.
Manheimer DI, Davidson S, Balter MB, et al:  Popular attitudes and beliefs about tranquilizers . Am J Psychiatry 1973;;130:1246-1253.
Straughan JL:  Which benzodiazepine, why and how? S Afr Med J 1978;;55:1110-1114.
Armitage UJ, Schneiderman LJ, Bass RA:  Response of physicians to medical complaints in men and women . JAMA 1979;;241:2186-2187.
Parry HJ, Baiter MB, Mellinger GD, et al:  National patterns of psychotherapeutic drug use . Arch Gen Psychiatry 1973;;28:769-783.
Calahan D, Cisin IH:  American drinking practice: Summary of findings from a national probability sample: I. Extent of drinking by population subgroups . Q J Stud Alcohol 1968;: 29:130-151.
Manheimer DI, Mellinger GD, Baiter MB:  Marijuana use among urban adults . Science 1969;;16:1544-1545.

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Boethius G, Westerholm B:  Is the use of hypnotics, sedatives and minor tranquilizers really a major health problem? Acta Med Scand 1976;;199:507-512.
Blackwell E:  Psychotropic drugs in use today . JAMA 1973;;225:1637-1641.
Baiter MB, Levine J, Manheimer DI:  Cross-national study of the extent of anti-anxiety/ sedative drug use . N Engl J Med 1974;;290:769-774.
Mellinger GD, Balter MB, Manheimer DI:  Patterns of psychotherapeutic drug use among adults in San Francisco . Arch Gen Psychiatry 1971;;25:385-394.
Wilcox JB:  Psychotherapeutic prescribing patterns in general practice . NZ Med J 1977;; 85:363-366.
Carmody J, Boyle R, Butler P, et al:  Patterns of the use of benzodiazepines in Australia . Med J Aust 1977;;2:666-668.
Ezzati T, McLemore T: 1977 Summary: National Ambulatory Medical Care Survey . Advanced data from Vital Health and Statistics of the National Center for Health Statistics, No. 48:1-8, US Dept of Health, Education, and Welfare publication No. (PHS) 79-1250, 1977;.
Baiter MB, Levine J:  The nature and extent of psychotropic drug usage in the United States . Psychopharmacol Bull 1969;;5:3-13.
Karch FE, Becker LA:  Drug prescribing in primary care . J Fam Pract , to be published.
Manheimer DI, Davidson S, Balter MB, et al:  Popular attitudes and beliefs about tranquilizers . Am J Psychiatry 1973;;130:1246-1253.
Straughan JL:  Which benzodiazepine, why and how? S Afr Med J 1978;;55:1110-1114.
Armitage UJ, Schneiderman LJ, Bass RA:  Response of physicians to medical complaints in men and women . JAMA 1979;;241:2186-2187.
Parry HJ, Baiter MB, Mellinger GD, et al:  National patterns of psychotherapeutic drug use . Arch Gen Psychiatry 1973;;28:769-783.
Calahan D, Cisin IH:  American drinking practice: Summary of findings from a national probability sample: I. Extent of drinking by population subgroups . Q J Stud Alcohol 1968;: 29:130-151.
Manheimer DI, Mellinger GD, Baiter MB:  Marijuana use among urban adults . Science 1969;;16:1544-1545.
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