“… as a profession, primary care physicians know, or should know, that psychotropic medications are mostly ineffective and potentially dangerous to patients. As such, most physicians who prescribe psychotropic medication do so to the detriment of their patients.”
This paper – “A Failure to Serve” (subtitled “A White Paper on The Use of Medications As A First line Treatment And Misuse In Behavioral Interventions” – has been written within an American context and comes from the National Alliance of Professional Psychology Providers. It begins:
“There is a crisis in our nation’s behavioral health care system. Many factors contribute to this crisis, including
financial, regulatory, and cultural issues. One of the most glaring problems in this crisis is the corporate
healthcare industry’s practice of placing earnings and exorbitant profits above the public interest at the expense
of quality services to those in need. There is another significant factor contributing to the poor quality of
services provided to patients suffering from behavioral disorders: a significant shift of behavioral healthcare
from specialists, such as psychologists and psychiatrists, to primary care physicians. While well-meaning, the
majority of primary care physicians is not trained or experienced enough to provide behavioral health treatment
and diagnosis. These physicians have become naive distributors for drug manufacturers and collude with
insurers in the face of solid research that shows that psychotropic medications are not effective or beneficial for
an ever-growing number of patients. NAPPP accepts that not every primary care physician is a puppet of drug
companies or the insurance industry. Most are caring and hardworking professionals. However, as a profession,
primary care physicians know, or should know, that psychotropic medications are mostly ineffective and
potentially dangerous to patients. As such, most physicians who prescribe psychotropic medication do so to the
detriment of their patients.
The enclosed report, “A Failure to Serve,” addresses this crisis by providing a perspective of the problems
encountered by patients who need behavioral healthcare but are not receiving it. The authors provide solid
solutions based on sound, up-to-date research to support our assertions and conclusions about this crisis in
behavioral healthcare. The problems of the present system, in which behavioral health is provided in primary
care settings, will become even more pronounced as the new healthcare mandates take effect. NAPPP is
concerned that healthcare reform will continue and even exacerbate the violation of patient care that is
ubiquitous and characteristic of the present system …”
You can read more from here.
