Inpatient and outpatient patterns of psychotropic drug prescribing by nonpsychiatrist physicians.

The authors found that among 228 general hospital patients, minor tranquilizers were prescribed most often and with the least justification and that major tranquilizers were prescribed sparingly and by and large judiciously. Antidepressants were given less often than would be justified by the incidence of depressive illness among these patients. Nonrecognition of depression in patients with somatic complaints and autonomic signs of depression contributed to this lack of treatment.