Psychotropic Medication Prescribing Across Medical Providers, 2016-2019.

OBJECTIVE

The authors sought to provide updated estimates of the proportion of psychotropic medications prescribed by different medical providers.

METHODS

This pooled cross-sectional study used data from the Medical Expenditure Panel Survey (2016-2019). Nationally representative estimates of the percentages of all psychotropic medications prescribed by each provider type were calculated, and analyses stratified by medication type, insurance type, and age were conducted.

RESULTS

Data from 58,547 psychotropic prescriptions reported by 7,693 unique individuals were analyzed. More than 60% of psychotropic medications were prescribed by providers other than psychiatrists (33.5%) or psychologists (2.2%), such as general practitioners, nurse practitioners, and physician assistants. This distribution varied significantly by medication, insurance, and patient age.

CONCLUSIONS

Most psychotropic medication prescribing occurs in primary care; however, notable differences by medication, insurance, and age were observed, suggesting areas for future research.