Patient and facility characteristics associated with benzodiazepine prescribing for veterans with PTSD

Source: Psychiatric Services Area: Evidence > Medicines Management > References Objective: Practice guidelines used in the US Veterans Health Administration (VHA) caution against benzodiazepine use by veterans with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) because of inefficacy and safety concerns.  Although use has declined, the VHA prescription rate is 30% or higher nationally.  To inform intervention design, this study examined patient- and facility-level correlates of benzodiazepine prescribing. Methods: This cross-sectional study used 2009 national administrative US VHA data to identify veterans with PTSD, benzodiazepine prescriptions, and various patient and facility characteristics.  Correlates of benzodiazepine prescribing were determined with multivariable hierarchical logit models. Results: Among 137 VHA facilities, 495,309 veterans with PTSD were identified, and 150,571 (30.4%) received a benzodiazepine prescription.  Patient characteristics independently associated with benzodiazepine use included female gender, age 30 years or ...
Source: NeLM - Mental Health - Category: Psychiatry Source Type: news