BENZODIAZEPINE PRESCRIBING AND WITHDRAWAL FOR 3234 PATIENTS IN 15 GENERAL PRACTICES

Benzodiazepines are still widely prescribed in general practice, despi te repeated warnings about the problems associated with their use. Oth er studies have shown that a variety of interventions can reduce presc ribing, but these have been restricted to relatively few general pract ices or patients. We co-ordinated an audit of benzodiazepine prescribi ng and withdrawal in 15 practices caring for 87 900 patients across a district. In total 3234 patients (37 per 1000 registered patients) wer e discovered to be taking the drugs at the start of the programme, and 16% of these people stopped taking the drugs by the conclusion of the audit 8 months later. There was no relation between success at benzod iazepine cessation and initial levels of prescribing, nor with practic e size. Younger patients were significantly more likely to stop benzod iazepines than those over the age of 65.