SPECIALTY TRAINING AND THE PERSONAL USE OF BENZODIAZEPINES BY PHYSICIANS AFFECT THEIR PRONENESS TO PRESCRIBE TRANQUILIZERS

The decision on how to treat a patient does not depend on clinical mat ters or illness characteristics alone, but also on patient, physician and setting variables such as personality, training, or reimbursement. No research has yet been carried out to answer the question whether p ersonal experience with medications also influences prescribing behavi or. In this study, 124 physicians stratified according to specialty (n europsychiatrists vs. general practitioners), type of institution (pri vate practice vs. hospital), years of professional experience (young v s. old), and region (rural vs. urban) participated in a structured int erview to evaluate their proneness to prescribe benzodiazepines for sl eep disorders as well as their personal experience in taking benzodiaz epines for their own sleep problems. Both specialty and personal exper ience were significantly related to proneness to prescribe. Other vari ables tested (region, institution, age, gender) did not help to explai n the variance in benzodiazepine prescribing practice. Thus physician variables and, importantly, their own personal experience in taking th e medication significantly influence treatment choice. Rational medica l decision making and treatment guidelines must therefore take into ac count medical knowledge as well as knowledge of personal treatment pre ferences and professional biases.