Identifying the effects of scientific information and recommendations on physicians' prescribing behavior.

ABSTRACT: We investigate how the prescribing behavior of physicians reacts to scientific information and recommendations released by public authorities. Taking the example of antidepressant drugs, we use French panel data on exhaustive prescriptions made by a representative sample of general practitioners to more than 110,000 depressed patients between 2000 and 2008. New results revealing an increase in suicidal thinking among children taking selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) were reported in 2004 and prompted the release of new guidelines by public health authorities. We identify the effect of this unexpected warning on physicians' drug choices while addressing the possibility that patients heterogeneity may be correlated with unobserved physician characteristics. While the warning de

SUBMITTER: Dubois P 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8384687 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature