Medication backup: attitudes and practices of psychiatrists and residents

Twelve residents and 12 attending psychiatrists in the adult division of a university-based department of psychiatry responded to a 20-item questionnaire about medication backup, or the provision of psychotropic medications for a patient treated in psychotherapy by another clinician. The attending psychiatrists and residents did not differ significantly in their attitudes about and practices of medication backup. Results of this preliminary study indicated that about half of both groups saw between one and five patients a month for this purpose. All except one respondent believed that medication backup may have a detrimental effect on treatment.