Letter: Anti-depressants and prescriptions
Photo credit: Newsday/David L. Pokress | A file photo of prescription drugs. (April 21, 2005)
The nurse who wrote in complaining about overprescribing antidepressants is guilty of a common misperception about these medications ["Too many don't need antidepressants," Letters, Feb. 13]. While it is true that overburdened primary care physicians occasionally prescribe antidepressants as a substitute for discussing issues with their patients because of time constraints, it is also still true that the majority of clinically depressed patients never get properly diagnosed or receive appropriate antidepressant therapy.
Thus, rather than being overprescribed, antidepressants are actually underprescribed overall, but are often prescribed for the wrong reasons.
As for the idea that psychiatrists make up diagnoses like social anxiety disorder as an excuse for prescribing more medication, I would not seek to deny a proven effective treatment to countless patients who cannot sustain relationships or maintain employment due to crippling anxiety.
Dr. Richard Schloss, Huntington
Editor's note: The writer is a psychiatrist.
