THE IMPORTANCE OF ACCIDENTS IN EVALUATING THE COST OF SSRIS - A REVIEW

Economic studies attempting to justify the increased cost of new antid epressants such as the SSRIs are often difficult to interpret, margina l benefits hinging on minute differences in assumptions and interpreta tion. Studies to date have focused largely upon the costs of treatment failure, which in turn relates to compliance rates. A missing factor is the cost of accidents, especially serious road traffic accidents. M ost tricyclic antidepressants seriously impair driving performance, ev en more so than alcohol or benzodiazepines, whilst SSRIs do not. With moves towards maintenance and continuation therapy for depression, pat ients on tricyclics remain at long-term risk for such accidents. Cost savings from reducing the rate of accidents could more than pay for th e increased costs of SSRIs.