Benzodiazepine prescription evaluation on inpatient psychiatry

Abstract

Since the Food and Drug Administration announced on August 31, 2016 it was requiring boxed warnings regarding the risk of respiratory depression and death when benzodiazepines are combined with opioid, facilities face growing scrutiny of benzodiazepine utilization. Benzodiazepines are an effective treatment for acute anxiety and often administered to patients who require inpatient psychiatric treatment. Medication Utilization Evaluation (MUE) is a multidisciplinary quality improvement method that can evaluate safety and utilization of medications in a facility. This MUE pilot project identified 261 records of patients prescribed benzodiazepines in a facility from January 1, 2017-March 31, 2017. Results showed that 75% of the sample received appropriate orders for benzodiazepine. Potential factors to predict inappropriate orders were depression and alcohol withdrawal. More information is needed pertaining to the actual utilization of benzodiazepines on the inpatient unit.