Can a primary care provider or family practitioner prescribe psychotropic medications?

In many cases, yes. Primary care doctors prescribe the majority of antidepressants in the U.S. Some primary care doctors feel confident managing more complex conditions, and in some cases they are pressed into service due to the lack of psychiatric consultative resources. As a general rule, people with more complex mental illness symptoms benefit from care by a psychiatrist or in consultation with a psychiatrist. The collaborative care model has excellent evidence to support good patient outcomes when care is provided by a primary care doctor and a psychiatrist working as a team even if they are not co-located.

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