I worked as an NHS Psychiatrist for quarter of a century. I retired several years ago.
When in training, my colleagues universally recommended this handbook by Professor Stephen Bazire [+ Lundbeck]. This “Pocket handbook” guides doctors on the prescription of psychotropic drugs and has been repeatedly updated. The latest version is available electronically.
This week I was reminded of the career-long influence of BAZIRE on the prescribing of psychotropics. Professor Bazire offered the following response [see below] to this report in The Pharmaceutical Journal. In Scotland, it is now the case that nearly 1 in 4 of the adult population are taking an antidepressant medication [and a significant proportion continue to take these prescribed drugs for a longer duration than the evidence-based recommendation]:
The following figures were published in the BMJ on 16 July 2022 confirm that antidepressant prescribing is up a further 6% since last year:
It seems to me that Psychiatry continues to be in Fabula [and more-than-a-little].