Many providers who lack formal training in mental health or addictions find themselves caring for patients with behavioral health conditions, but prescribing medications for mental health and/or substance use disorders can be daunting. To help bridge this gap, the UW AIMS Center developed a summary of Commonly Prescribed Psychotropic Medications that providers can use to familiarize themselves with effective medication treatments used in primary care.
The AIMS Center also created a collection of Brief Medication Prescribing Directions for common psychotropic medications used to treat adult patients. The succinct protocols are organized into three sections — dosing information, monitoring and general information — and are tailored to the outpatient setting.
Both resources are intended to facilitate the best possible prescribing practices in the outpatient setting. They should always be used with discrimination and, where questions arise (e.g., as new prescribing information comes out about a medication), in consultation with a pharmacist, current FDA drug label guidelines and/or an on-call UW psychiatrist staffing the Psychiatry Consultation Line.