The monitoring of longer term prescriptions of antidepressants: observational study in a primary care setting.

Background: There is little evidence to guide the frequency of review for patients taking antidepressants in the longer term.

Objectives: To measure the frequency with which patients on longer term courses of antidepressants have their treatment monitored in primary care and to identify patient characteristics associated with the frequency of monitoring.

Methods: A cohort of patients who were receiving antidepressants continuously for at least two years was identified from four general practices.