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Older patients use many drugs, while there is hardly any information about the effect and safety of these in elderly patients. It appears that only 56%, and 20% of the information required by the European Medicines Agency (EMA) concerning use of medication in the elderly is stated in the patient information leaflet and in the Dutch Pharmacotherapeutic Compass, respectively. The Expertise Centre PHarmacotherapy in Old Persons (Ephor) gathered all available information about drug prescribing in older patients for a number of drug groups from national and international literature, and provided prescribing advice. This information will be made available to users of the Dutch Pharmacotherapeutic Compass, for quick accessibility.

Older patients use many drugs, while there is hardly any information about the effect and safety of these in elderly patients. It appears that only 56%, and 20% of the information required by the European Medicines Agency (EMA) concerning use of medication in the elderly is stated in the patient information leaflet and in the Dutch Pharmacotherapeutic Compass, respectively. The Expertise Centre PHarmacotherapy in Old Persons (Ephor) gathered all available information about drug prescribing in older patients for a number of drug groups from national and international literature, and provided prescribing advice. This information will be made available to users of the Dutch Pharmacotherapeutic Compass, for quick accessibility.

Objective: To assess whether concerns and problems experienced with drug discontinuation occur more frequently in patients using antidepressants than in patients using benzodiazepines, antipsychotics or non-psychiatric medication. Clinical trials and epidemiological studies have shown that premature discontinuation is a major problem during antidepressant therapy. There is little information on how patients perceive treatment with antidepressants in clinical practice, and it is unclear whether patients perceive discontinuation as a problem. Design and methods: All calls to a Dutch national telephone medicines infotmation service received between 1990 and 2004 were examined retrospectively. Calls about discontinuation were identified and classified either as a genetal question about discontinuation, or as a problem experienced with discontinuation. These calls were grouped into four main classes: antidepressants, antipsychotics, benzodiazepines or non-psychiatric medicines. Results: Of all 39,786 registered phone calls, 6,159 (15-5%) related to antidepressants, 1,658 (4.2%) to antipsychotics and 3,916 (9.8%) to benzodiazepines. Patients calling about antidepressants called about discontinuation three times as often [odds ratio (OR) 2.8; 95% confidence interval (CI95) 2.6-3.0], and reported a problem with discontinuation five times more often (OR 5.4; CI95 4,6-6.3) than patients who called about non-psychiatric medicines. The proportion of questions about discontinuation and problems experienced with discontinuation was also higher in patients calling about benzodiazepines and antipsychotics than in patients calling about non-psychiatric medication. Conclusion: Patients perceive discontinuation of antidepressants, as well as discontinuation of antipsychotics and benzodiazepines, as a problem. Discontinuation seems a general problem for all psychiatric medicines, and needs more attention in the communication between patients and healthcare providers.

Objective: To assess whether concerns and problems experienced with drug discontinuation occur more frequently in patients using antidepressants than in patients using benzodiazepines, antipsychotics or non-psychiatric medication. Clinical trials and epidemiological studies have shown that premature discontinuation is a major problem during antidepressant therapy. There is little information on how patients perceive treatment with antidepressants in clinical practice, and it is unclear whether patients perceive discontinuation as a problem. Design and methods: All calls to a Dutch national telephone medicines infotmation service received between 1990 and 2004 were examined retrospectively. Calls about discontinuation were identified and classified either as a genetal question about discontinuation, or as a problem experienced with discontinuation. These calls were grouped into four main classes: antidepressants, antipsychotics, benzodiazepines or non-psychiatric medicines. Results: Of all 39,786 registered phone calls, 6,159 (15-5%) related to antidepressants, 1,658 (4.2%) to antipsychotics and 3,916 (9.8%) to benzodiazepines. Patients calling about antidepressants called about discontinuation three times as often [odds ratio (OR) 2.8; 95% confidence interval (CI95) 2.6-3.0], and reported a problem with discontinuation five times more often (OR 5.4; CI95 4,6-6.3) than patients who called about non-psychiatric medicines. The proportion of questions about discontinuation and problems experienced with discontinuation was also higher in patients calling about benzodiazepines and antipsychotics than in patients calling about non-psychiatric medication. Conclusion: Patients perceive discontinuation of antidepressants, as well as discontinuation of antipsychotics and benzodiazepines, as a problem. Discontinuation seems a general problem for all psychiatric medicines, and needs more attention in the communication between patients and healthcare providers.

Objective: To assess whether concerns and problems experienced with drug discontinuation occur more frequently in patients using antidepressants than in patients using benzodiazepines, antipsychotics or non-psychiatric medication. Clinical trials and epidemiological studies have shown that premature discontinuation is a major problem during antidepressant therapy. There is little information on how patients perceive treatment with antidepressants in clinical practice, and it is unclear whether patients perceive discontinuation as a problem. Design and methods: All calls to a Dutch national telephone medicines infotmation service received between 1990 and 2004 were examined retrospectively. Calls about discontinuation were identified and classified either as a genetal question about discontinuation, or as a problem experienced with discontinuation. These calls were grouped into four main classes: antidepressants, antipsychotics, benzodiazepines or non-psychiatric medicines. Results: Of all 39,786 registered phone calls, 6,159 (15-5%) related to antidepressants, 1,658 (4.2%) to antipsychotics and 3,916 (9.8%) to benzodiazepines. Patients calling about antidepressants called about discontinuation three times as often [odds ratio (OR) 2.8; 95% confidence interval (CI95) 2.6-3.0], and reported a problem with discontinuation five times more often (OR 5.4; CI95 4,6-6.3) than patients who called about non-psychiatric medicines. The proportion of questions about discontinuation and problems experienced with discontinuation was also higher in patients calling about benzodiazepines and antipsychotics than in patients calling about non-psychiatric medication. Conclusion: Patients perceive discontinuation of antidepressants, as well as discontinuation of antipsychotics and benzodiazepines, as a problem. Discontinuation seems a general problem for all psychiatric medicines, and needs more attention in the communication between patients and healthcare providers.