The use of psychotropic drugs in a family practice in a community of low socio-economic status

In communities of low socio-economic status psychosocial stress is a frequent component of complaints dealt with by the family physician. The extent to which psychotropic drugs were prescribed was studied in a primary health center which was in the process of reorganization along the lines of modern family practices and multi-disciplinary teamwork. The number of prescriptions per annum per person was found to be 0.5, which is half the calculated national rate. Psychotropic drugs accounted for 3.5% of all prescriptions written during the four-week period studied. This relatively low use was selective and did not extend, for example, to analgesics which were prescribed at the same rate as the national average. Since the rate of visits to the doctor for emotional and social problems was high, the low rate of prescription of psychotropic drugs may indicate that alternative treatments were often used by the doctors, such as counseling and referral for social casework.