INVESTIGATING TYPES OF PSYCHIATRIC MEDICATIONS PRESCRIBED BY NON-PSYCHIATRIC PHYSICIANS AND THEIR CONSISTENCY WITH THE PATIENTS MENTAL STATUS IN KARAJ

Prescribing appropriate psychiatric medications is of great importance due to their recent increased use, need for the accurate diagnosis of psychiatric disorders, and the high risks of suicide using these medications. The aim of this study was to consider the kinds of the psychiatric medications prescribed by non-psychiatric physicians and their consistency with patients’ mental status in Karaj. Materials & Methods: In this study, 3 pharmacies in the North, South and central regions of Karaj were selected and cluster sampling was done. About 195 prescriptions including psychiatric medications were taken into consideration as well as the patients receiving them. Consistency was assessed using GHQ 28 item version and SCID-1. The general cut-off point in the GHQ on the interview was 23. The analysis of data was done via SPSS-18 and using both through descriptive and analytic statistics, the regression, Chi-Squared and correlation tests. Results: Most of prescriptions (42%) belonged to the general physicians and the most frequently prescribed medications belonged to antidepressant drugs (70%). 51% of patients referring to the general physicians, 46% of patients referring to the internal medicine physicians and 54% of patients referring to the neurologist with no psychiatric problems. In most cases, psychiatric medications were prescribed based on the patients’ initial complaints. Conclusion: In most cases, psychiatric medications prescribed were not consistent with the mental status of patients. As this study showed more attention should be paid to training physicians in management and treatment of psychiatric disorders