INCREASING use of psychiatric drugs in the US is highlighting the increased demands on the role of pharmacists, according to a research letter published in JAMA Internal Medicine.
The research revealed that one in six adults in the US reported taking psychotropic drugs during 2013, prompting University of Alabama Clinical Pharmacist and Clinical Professor Cherry W. Jackson to identify areas of concern.
The largest increase has been in the prescribing of antipsychotics, antidepressants and drugs used to treat ADHD, Jackson said.
"It does seem like there's growth in the prescribing of psychotropics to children and the elderly, and those are two big causes of concern for us," Jackson said.
"Pharmacists can play a critical role in evaluating and promoting medication adherence," Jackson told Drug Topics.
"Nonadherence can be a contributing factor in overprescribing because physicians may increase the dose of a medication or write a prescription for an additional medication without knowing the patient is not taking the first prescription as prescribed."
Adherence concerns are "a really big role for pharmacists, I think," Jackson emphasised, adding these medications also have a lot of side effects, which need monitoring "by pharmacists and other members of the care team."
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