Resumen de Off-Label Prescribing by Psychiatrists: What is the Practitioner’s Liability?
Christophe Bartoli, Caroline Berland-Benhaim, Caroline Sastre, Valerie Baillif-Couniou, Pascal Kintz, Georges Leonetti, Anne Laure Pelissier Alicot
In psychiatry, the molecules available and the dosages recommended when a drug receives marketing authorization are not always adequate to treat patients with major behavioral disturbances. Off-label prescribing is frequent in this context, with regard to the indica- tions and the dosages given as well as to the drug combinations used. However, if complications or death occur, the practitioner’s liability may be engaged. The authors report three deaths attributed to off-label prescribing in psychiatry and which led to charges against the physicians. They review the precautions to be taken when prescribing in such conditions (no other possible treatment, existence of sound scientific evidence, consent obtained from the patien t, or their legal representatives except in cases of force majeure) and the physician’s liability if adverse events occur that could be attributed to off-label prescribing.
