Twelve residents and 12 attending psychiatrists in the adult division of
a university-based department of psychiatry responded to a 20-item
questionnaire about medication backup, or the provision of psychotropic
medications for a patient treated in psychotherapy by another clinician.
The attending psychiatrists and residents did not differ significantly in
their attitudes about and practices of medication backup. Results of this
preliminary study indicated that about half of both groups saw between one
and five patients a month for this purpose. All except one respondent
believed that medication backup may have a detrimental effect on
treatment.
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