Title: Can a primary care doctor prescribe medicine for mental health issues or do they have to be a psychiatrist? | Yahoo Answers
Headings: Can a primary care doctor prescribe medicine for mental health issues or do they have to be a psychiatrist?
Can a primary care doctor prescribe medicine for mental health issues or do they have to be a psychiatrist?
8 Answers
Anonymous
Anonymous

Content: Good luck and take care of you! ...Show more
jdphd
Lv 5
1 decade ago
a primary care doctor is able to prescribe medication for mental health concerns. however, not all primary care physicians are willing to do so for all of the patients they work with - if a doctor feels that a person they are seeing needs more specialized help with medication than he or she is able to provide, then that doctor will be ethically required to refer the patient to a psychiatrist with more expertise in mental health concerns and the medications used to treat them. think of it this way -- if you have high blood pressure, your primary care physician can give you medication to lower your blood pressure. the physician can give you advice about changing your diet or exercising more frequently to improve your overall health, which should, in turn, lower your blood pressure. but if your condition does not improve or if it gets worse, or if the doctor thinks that he or she is not equipped to handle the problem to the best of his or her medical ability, then they will refer you to a cardiologist. it's just the same with mental health concerns, except that the physician will refer someone to either a psychiatrist for medications or to a therapist (psychologist, social worker, licensed professional counselor, etc.) for psychotherapy. ...Show more
Source (s): Clinical psychologist
Terrible G
Lv 4
1 decade ago
A PC can write any drug there is.