A study of telephone prescriptions in family practice

Telephone prescriptions are a unique aspect of North American medicine which has received relatively little attention. This paper examines certain behaviors of the physician and the patient with respect to prescriptions in the office and over the telephone. The results indicate that patients receiving prescriptions over the telephone are demographically distinct, tend to receive large amounts of psychotropic drugs, and are more likely to be seen by their physicians as "problem patients." Suggestions are made to help identify the habitual telephone prescription patient to allow the physician to review the need for the medication and the status of the physician-patient relationship.