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    Steep Climb In Benzodiazepine Prescribing By Primary Care Doctors

    U.S. prescriptions for Valium, Ativan and other benzodiazepines have shot up since 2003, statistics show, especially for chronic pain. Roughly half those prescriptions are from primary care providers.
    by Rhitu Chatterjee Jan 25, 2019 4 minutes
    The drugs clonazepam and diazepam are both benzodiazepines — and better known by the brand names Klonopin and Valium. The drug class also includes Ativan, Librium and Halcion.

    The percentage of outpatient medical visits that led to a benzodiazepine prescription doubled between 2003 and 2015, according to a study published Friday. And about half those prescriptions came from primary care physicians.

    This class of drugs includes the commonly used medications Valium, Ativan and Xanax. While benzodiazepines are mostly prescribed for anxiety, insomnia and seizures, the study found that the biggest rise in prescriptions during this time period was for back pain and other types of chronic pain. The findings appear online in JAMA Network Open.

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    And while benzodiazepines are bestthe new study found that long-term use of these drugs has also risen. From 2005 to 2015, continuing prescriptions increased by 50 percent.

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