Psychopharmacologic Laziness

Dr. Julia Ann Koretski, a psychiatrist and Digital Editor of Journal of Clinical Psychopharmacology (JCP), discusses the editorial "Psychopharmacologic Laziness" with its author, Dr. Anthony Rothschild, who is Editor-in-Chief of JCP. He contends that psychotropic medications with well-established efficacy for the treatment of various psychiatric conditions are underprescribed due in part to what he provocatively refers to as prescriber "laziness." Under discussion are lithium, clozapine, and long-acting injectable second-generation antipsychotics. Dr. Rothschild notes that there seems to be a reluctance to treat patients with medications that entail taking blood levels or dosage monitoring, extra patient education, attentiveness to interactions and side effects, or a step outside a comfort zone.   The podcast concludes with suggestions of medication-specific fixes and a rethinking of a psychiatric resident's training to include proficiency in treating with remedies that have a strong evidence base but are viewed as extra work. The editorial is published in the November-December 2024 issue of the Journal of Clinical Psychopharmacology.