Factors involved in making decisions to prescribe medications for psychiatric disorders by psychiatrists: a survey study.

The objective of this study is to understand psychiatrist's decisions to prescribe psychiatric medications. A survey questionnaire was prepared consisting of 15 factors. Each factor had a five-point Likert scale, rating the importance of each factor in making decisions to prescribe medications. Twenty-six psychiatrists at a state psychiatric hospital completed the questionnaire. The data analysis involved the frequencies of responses for each factor being compared using Chi square goodness-of-fit tests with null hypothesis that the response distribution will be centered around average score of three on the Likert scale. All the participants rated patient's symptom, severity, and diagnosis as the most important. This was followed by the patient's past experience with medications, then medication side effects, concurrent physical health problems, and medication interactions. Psychiatrist's experience with medications rated as more important than evidence from clinical trials. Finally, psychiatrists integrate evidence from research findings with personal experience, patient preferences, and clinical context in making decisions in prescribing medications for psychiatric disorders.