Prescribing attitudes of different physician groups regarding fluoxetine

Abstract

Objective: To determine the attitudes and prescribing patterns of family medicine and psychiatric physicians regarding fluoxetine.

Design: A three-part questionnaire was distributed to the Departments of Family Medicine and Psychiatry. The survey included topics associated with fluoxetine use that have received broad professional attention, such as drug-induced suicidal and aggressive behavior.

Setting: The Family Practice Medical Group and the Department of Psychiatry at the University of Florida.

Participants: Mailing lists from both above departments were used to distribute surveys to residents, fellows, and attending/faculty members of each department. Eighty-seven surveys were mailed.

Main outcome measures: Survey questions were divided into three sections to help determine current attitudes of prescribing fluoxetine: eight short cases, 16 statements, and demographic data.

Results: The return rate was 69 percent following a mailing and a hand-delivered copy. Responses were dichotomized to agree or disagree and were analyzed by Fisher's exact test. Psychiatrists were much more likely than family practitioners to prescribe fluoxetine for obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), and more likely to prescribe for a patient with a history of substance abuse or seizure disorder. Psychiatrists were more aware of safety issues; however, drug-interaction knowledge was weak in both groups.

Conclusions: Family practitioners, being the most predominant of medical specialists, appeared equally comfortable with prescribing fluoxetine in most circumstances compared with psychiatrists. However, there is a need for pharmacists to provide up-to-date drug information on fluoxetine to all healthcare professionals.