Initiation of antidepressant therapy: do patients follow the GP's prescription?
BACKGROUND
The question whether patients actually start drug taking after having received a first antidepressant prescription is often overlooked.


OBJECTIVE
To determine the incidence of patients who do not fill or fill only a single antidepressant prescription at the pharmacy, and to identify associated patient characteristics.


METHODS
Retrospective study linking a general practice to a pharmacy dispensing database.


METHODS
General practice in the Netherlands.


METHODS



METHODS
patients who received a first-time antidepressant prescription from a GP. Three patient groups were identified: patients who did not fill the prescription (non-fillers); patients who filled only a single prescription (single Rx-fillers); and patients who filled at least two consecutive prescriptions. Non-fillers and single Rx-fillers were combined into a group of decliners.


RESULTS
Of all 965 patients, 41 (4.2%) did not fill the prescription, and 229 (23.7%) filled only a single prescription. Patients who consulted their GP for a non-specific indication, rather than for depression, anxiety, panic, or obsessive-compulsive disorder, were almost three times more likely (odds ratio [OR] = 2.7, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 1.8 to 3.9) to decline treatment. Further, the risk of declining was almost fivefold higher (OR = 4.8, 95% CI = 2.1 to 11.3) in non-Western immigrants, and almost twofold higher (OR = 1.8, 95% CI = 1.2 to 2.8) in patients >60 years of age.


CONCLUSIONS
Over one in four patients who receive a first-time antidepressant prescription decline treatment; they either do not initiate drug taking or do not persist with antidepressant use for longer than 2 weeks.
van Geffen
Erica C G
EC
Division of Pharmacoepidemiology and Pharmacotherapy, Utrecht Institute for Pharmaceutical Sciences, Faculty of Science, Utrecht University, the Netherlands.
Gardarsdottir
Helga
H
van Hulten
Rolf
R
van Dijk
Liset
L
Egberts
Antoine C G
AC
Heerdink
Eibert R
ER
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000928:Antidepressive Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D003866:Depressive Disorder / Q000188:drug therapy*; D011307:Drug Prescriptions / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D004812:Epidemiologic Methods; D005194:Family Practice / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009426:Netherlands / Q000453:epidemiology; D010349:Patient Compliance / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D012307:Risk Factors; D055815:Young Adult; D016903:Drug Monitoring
D000928:Antidepressive Agents