New regulations regarding e-prescriptions may increase the risk of acute withdrawal syndromes in patients dependent on benzodiazepines or non-benzodiazepine hypnotics.

New regulations regarding e-prescriptions may increase the risk of acute withdrawal syndromes in patients dependent on benzodiazepines or non-benzodiazepine hypnotics. Psychiatr Pol. 2020 Apr 30;54(2):351-358 Authors: Silczuk A, Heitzman JP Abstract The implementation of solutions in the area of e-health and use of electronically issued prescription obligations meets the modern requirements of the healthcare system. Adigital record of theissued prescriptions aims atpreventing prescriptions from being traded without a physician's name in patient medical records. Access to the system may in turn reveal doctors' bad practices, and fear of the professional and legal consequences may force achange in the prescription of benzodiazepines or non-benzodiazepine hypnotics. The effect of these activities may be the disclosure of many cases of 'hidden' dependence and adverse phenomena and increase in the number of effects of cases of sudden dose reduction or discontinuation of benzodiazepines or non-benzodiazepine hypnotics. It is recommended to develop integrated, central information and train Emergency Department staff. Awareness of the phenomenon and appropriate diagnostic and therapeutic procedures can significantly increase the chance of improving the quality and safety of services provided in the acute intervention mode (Emergency Department). Arational solution may be to urgently develop standards of conduct in cases of acute withdrawal s...
Source: Psychiatria Polska - Category: Psychiatry Tags: Psychiatr Pol Source Type: research