title: Use of the Clinical Laboratory in Psychiatric Practice.
abstract: In this review, the authors address the general principles of prescribing psychiatric medications and discuss how the clinical laboratory can be used to guide prescribing practices. Treatment considerations in different settings and for different medications are discussed. Because the clinical laboratory is advancing in its technology, so should the clinician's knowledge of how to use the clinical laboratory. The authors propose recommendations and a simple algorithm for how to use medication levels in blood and other fluids to guide care in medications without well-defined therapeutic windows.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Montefiore Medical Center, The University Hospital for Albert Einstein College of Medicine, 111 East 210th Street, Bronx, NY 10467, USA.
authors.forename: Christopher
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Aloezos
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Montefiore Medical Center, The University Hospital for Albert Einstein College of Medicine, 111 East 210th Street, Bronx, NY 10467, USA. Electronic address: jwai@montefiore.org.
authors.forename: Jonathan M
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Wai
authors.affiliation: Deparment of Pathology, Wayne State University School of Medicine, 540 East Canfield, Detroit, MI 48201, USA; Consolidated Laboratory Management Systems, 24555 Southfield Road, Southfield, MI 48075, USA.
authors.forename: Martin H
authors.initials: MH
authors.lastname: Bluth
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Montefiore Medical Center, The University Hospital for Albert Einstein College of Medicine, 111 East 210th Street, Bronx, NY 10467, USA.
authors.forename: Howard
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Forman
mesh_terms: D016903:Drug Monitoring / Q000379:methods*; D006801:Humans; D007753:Laboratories; D011619:Psychotropic Drugs / Q000097:blood* / Q000652:urine*
chemical_list: D011619:Psychotropic Drugs
keywords: Blood drug levels; Clinical laboratory; Psychotropic prescribing practices; Substance abuse; Therapeutic drug monitoring; Urine drug levels; Urine drug testing