'Dear Doctor' Letters Use Peer Pressure, Government Warning To Stop Overprescribing
Researchers found that a simple letter to doctors, focusing on their high prescribing rates, reduced their tendency to give risky antipsychotic drugs to their patients, including some with dementia.
The antipsychotic drug Seroquel was approved by the FDA years ago to help people with schizophrenia, bipolar disorder and other serious mental illnesses. But too frequently the drug is also given to people who have Alzheimer's disease or other forms of dementia. The problem with that? Seroquel can be deadly for dementia patients, according to the FDA.
